First & Second Chances
by Femina Serpens
Summary: Scorpius is in love. Draco, a recluse living a wizard life in a Muggle setting, didn't realize it would be with Rose bloody Weasley. Or spiral into his worst nightmare; meeting old rivals, her parents, to find out they are now separated just like him. Or that Mrs. Weasley, nee Granger, now much more interesting and attractive, would cause a hell of a lot of change in his life.
1. Teenagers

**_This is a love story._**

**_Of two adults, and two teenagers. _**

**_One set is fresh-faced and brand new to the concept, the other bitter from years of believing the real thing could never die...and then did._**

* * *

_Chapter 1: Teenagers_

"Dad, I want a laptop."

Gently lowering the _Daily Prophet _on the coffee table, Draco took the reading specs off the bridge of his nose and glanced up.

There he was, his son, looking ever the picture of modernity. With his stupid white mop brushed to the side, bangs dancing across his forehead, artfully unkempt. Black glasses with thick frames a stark contrast to his hair, a pair of headphones wound round his neck. Dressed in bloody muggle clothing; tan jeans that were so skin tight he wondered how his balls fit in under his cock and a forest green zip up. The 'heighth of fashion' he had insisted when he arrived here the day previous. Astoria and Dickhole #3 were off on their honeymoon, so Scorpius had been dumped on his doorstep last minute for the whole summer holiday.

Not that he had anything against it. Since he'd moved to Amsterdam, he rarely got to see his London boy, so popular at school (so he claimed), with amazing grades (so he proved). A complete opposite of Draco's own experience at Hogwarts, the only reflection of his father being the entitled smirk he constantly seemed to wear, his confidence only a downfall when he came off like a pretentious bastard.

But it appeared his alma mater had vastly changed since his absence, a much more forward-thinking, accepting place. Scorpius had new information on everything he'd never had access to; Muggle Studies mandatory, technology no longer banned. His best friend, apparently, a Hufflepuff. If he hadn't been put in Slytherin, Draco may have pitched himself off a cliff.

"And _what_ pray tell is a laptop?"

Rolling those green eyes, he got his mothers, his son shifted his weight to the side as all 16 year olds tend to do, hoping that all he had to do was say 5 words to dear Daddy to reap all the rewards he so desired. Draco couldn't blame him much for that reaction, he'd been in silent competition with his ex to earn affection the pureblood way; with Galleons.

"Merlin Dad, are you serious? It's a computer, you know, for chatting and music and Internet and stuff."

Blank look faced with the condescending 'How-could-you-not-know-this' stare of the tech, nay Muggle, savvy generation, and Scorpius shook his head.

"_Internet stuff_?"

"Look, I want to keep in touch with my friends, okay? See what they're doing and things. In order to do that I need a laptop…and a Wi-Fi connection. You connect on the 'Internet'," he explained with quotations, "And you can speak with people instantly, see them as well if you have a web cam."

"If you want to see your friends, why can't you just….you know, _visit them?_ Write to them?" Draco inquired, watching Scorpius get flustered with a grin. "I thought you had a cell phone thing."

"It doesn't work properly out here, keeps cutting out, but I wouldn't need to text and call if I had a computer!"

"I didn't mind the phone, I can buy you a new one tomorrow."

"I don't want a new phone! Nobody even _talks_ on the phone anymore, Dad!."

"So you _don't_ need a new one then?"  
Arguing with teen logic had admittedly, become a guilty pleasure. It was almost as if he were a real parent.

"_Daaad,_ oh my god, you can't just bloody well go gallivanting to people's houses unannounced, yeah? In order to hang out you need to make contact. According to you that's by owl, which is like the slowest, most unreliable form of transportation and mail ever. If you bought me a computer I could talk to them right away, I could plan visits in ten seconds!"

"You could with your phone too. Besides , owls have been servicing the wizarding world for centuries, son, I don't know why you hate them so much," he said, scooping up his chai tea to take a hefty swig.

"Because they take literal YEARS to deliver a single piece of bloody parchment. "

"_Literal _years, I hardly think that's accurate."

"_You know what I mean!"_

"I do, but I can also side-along Apparate you to anywhere you have to go to, it's worked so far, hasn't it?" A raised eyebrow, and the man standing emitted an annoyed tick.

"You're so….so old-fashioned! If I wasn't on the Quidditch team I may as well be a social outcast. I can't even drive a car yet! We don't even own one. That prat Finlay James takes the mickey outta me every time he sees me, he calls me a baby!"  
This tactic would've worked immediately on Lucius Malfoy, and precisely, that was why Draco wasn't swayed by it.

"You're strong-willed, Scorpius, intelligent. Wouldn't have thought petty insults bothered you. Besides, you're a great person without material possession, you can't win genuine friends with objects."

"Dad, _come on_. Fair enough about the car, when I learn to Apparate I don't need it, but nearly everyone at school has got a computer."

"I didn't know you were everyone."

"You're being such an arse!"  
An angry stomp of the foot. Perhaps the beginning of a tantrum.

"Language, Scorpius," was the retort, firmer than his previous words.

"You're being miserable, dad."

"You are demanding I buy you something I have never even heard of, Scorpius."

"Because you live in the STONE AGE! Who doesn't own a damn telephone? It's not even _that _much, I'll use the same one forever!" he pleaded, whiny and mopey, as if his entire existence depended on this.

"I'll think about it, Scorpius."

"No you won't! You're so Anti-Muggle, you'll probably take one look at it in a shop and sneer down your nose and tell me 'You don't need it', and then go off on a rant about how 'superior' the backward ways of wizards are," he had imitated in a posh accent, too much resembling his father.

"I am _not_ anti-Muggle, Scorpius, I just prefer to live –"

"'The magic way,' yeah I get it, okay? But I'm stuck here ALL summer long with you, in a stupid city where they speak a dumb foreign language while all my friends are off having fun."

A slight buzzing feeling tingled on the skin of Draco's fingertips, flowing up into his jaw, flooding the depths of his stomach and chest: "You're _stuck _here, you say?"

He so wanted Scorpius to reel in shame, or correct his words, something other than see the tiny mirthless smile cross his sons lips before frowning again, as if he couldn't believe he was being asked the question.

"Were you under the guise that I _want _to be here? You're always pissed off at Mum for some reason or another, never shut up about it. And you're always busy with your stupid writing jobs."

"I'll take time off," he said easily, refusing an apology for being angry. Fighting to have his only child in his life more often than three times a year took a lot out of a person's will.

"I don't care, I haven't had any fun visiting you since I was 11. We have _nothing _in common, dad. I begged mum to take me to Majorca with Tarquin, but she refused. But you know what she _wouldn't_ refuse? A bloody laptop. Tarquin would let me get one, I know he would!"  
It was that part of the argument again, attacking the Achilles heel.

"_Scorpius – "  
_Hands were curling into fists, blood pumping at an alarming rate.

"No, he'd totally convince her because his grandpa is a muggle! A rich one too! A Scottish lord! Tarquin is a better Dad than you, he at least tries to get to know my interests and-"

"_SCORPIUS. SHUT THE HELL UP."_

The buttons were pushed, Scorpius could tell by the giant vein popping on his dads forehead.

"…_.Well it's true," _he mumbled, salting the wound only deeper.

A deep breath and the inflection was _almost _back to normal: "If he's _such_ a good father, why don't you ask _him_ to get you one then?"

It was petty and cold, and Draco regretted the retort as soon as it bled from his mouth. But it was too late because finally he saw the steely resolve, so much a flaw he had inherited from the Malfoy side, shatter when his child lowered his head to the floor.

And though he was expecting a 'maybe I will', Scorpius instead spun around and left the room, the echoes of his footsteps on stairs heard above as he shoved his head into his hands.

{}

"_Mum, _how difficult is it to learn Dutch, do you think?"

"_Dutch?"  
_Immersed in the boiling pot of soup before her, Hermione whipped her head to her daughter, face illuminated in the glow of her computer screen (as always) at the table. Clicking away at a pace Hermione had yet to even master, she turned down the stove and sauntered towards the dining area.  
"Why do you want to learn Dutch, Rose?"

"_Rosie's got a boyfriend!_" Hugo sang, popping out from the hall to their bedrooms, spinning around wildly in his Chudley Canons jersey. "He lives in Amsterdam, she wants to go see him!"

"I _do _not, Hugo, shut up!"  
But her expression indicated otherwise. Only when she was flustered did the Weasley part of the family rise out of Hermione's daughter; red spreading from her cheeks down to her beck, her generally collected demeanour faltered.

"Yes you do! I heard you talking about him to _Dominique," _he snickered, "_'Oh my god, he's just so cute! As if he said he wants to _date _me. But then…I haven't talked to him since school ended, do you think he doesn't fancy me anymore?'"_

"I SWEAR TO MERLIN HUGO, I WILL SAW YOUR EARS OFF WITH A HEX _SO _POWERFUL THAT NOT EVEN ST MUNGO'S COULD FIX YOU! "

"_Rose," _Hermione scolded, biting her lip, forcing her appearance to be stern as her son rolled on the carpet in near hysterical tears. When such a quiet tiny girl became angry, it was humorous. "No threats. Hugo, please stop listening in on conversation you weren't invited to, and let me talk to Rosie alone."

"_Fine," _he sighed, dramatically jumping upwards and running back to his lair.

"Sweetheart, _have_ you got a boyfriend?" Hermione asked lightly, closing the laptop for her and sitting down in the chair beside Rose, arms swept around her shoulders.

To be honest, Hermione had often wondered if perhaps Rose was troubled with her sexuality. She'd inherited all the greatest genes from both sides of the pool, making her a perfect package in her mother's eyes and many others. Wit beyond measure, beautiful red hair like Ginny's, baby blue eyes like her father's, her mother's spirited thirst for knowledge, slender body and legs for days from playing Chaser.

Hermione had been a worrier all her life, but as soon as Rose had turned 13, it was game over for her sanity in regards to her only girl. She was what the boys called 'fit'. Even older men would second glance at her daughter, but Rose had never gone gaga over any of them back. Apparently that had changed.  
Never did Hermione think Rose might be a late bloomer for finding boys attractive yet here they were.

"_Oh _mum, I don't know….."

"You don't know where to start, or you don't know if you're dating?"

"_Both!" _and she smacked her forehead with both palms.

"You can tell me, Rosie, I was teenager once too, remember?" she smiled, savouring the silly eye roll he received in return.

"You talk like an old woman sometimes!" Rosie giggled, taking her hands away to reveal dazzling teeth. "It's just weird, you know? You're always so….like, rational about everything, I suppose. It's just odd to ask about love advice from your _mother," _she grimaced.

"You know you can talk to me about _anything,_ why would that stop now?"

"I know, it's just complicated I suppose._"_

"Why didn't you tell me anything before? Or write about him? Have I met him?"

"_NO. _God no. I wouldn't owl this stuff to you. Besides, when I told dad who it was last week he went silent and angry-like, you know when he tries to pretend he isn't annoyed but then has a frowny face all day? _I can't talk to dad about this stuff anyways…." _she finished quietly.

She'd reached a point in conversation that tensed the air like it was being strangled. Suddenly Rose leant in for a hug. When she didn't let go, Hermione tightened the grip, feeling her daughters head warm up like fire.

Steadying her breathing, Rose choked what Hermione feared she'd been dying to ask for a long time now: "_Do you think Dad will ever move back in? Do you want him to try still?"_

It was a great question; one which finally had a definite answer.  
Separated for a few months now, she got mail every other day addressed to her from her husband.

"_I…."  
_There was no sugar coating that would be able to be thickened on tonight, so Hermione told the truth, figuring that she was old enough. Many challenges far beyond her years Hermione had faced; she never wanted Rose to experience the same troubles at the same emotional intensity as she did at such a young age. The scars ran so deep. In realizing this however, perhaps she'd tried too hard to make a 'normal' life, perhaps it was time to give full credit to her daughter's maturity.  
"You know what, sweetheart, I don't think so. We've been growing apart for a long time now, and that row we had…it's not a thing we can mend. We did try, we tried so hard, but the feeling isn't there anymore."

"_But you can mend anything," _ came the sniffled reply, "_I know dad wants to come back home, I know it…"_

"He wants to come home for you and Hugo, Rosie," she said, smoothing down the wild hair, tears threatening to slip. "I want him to see you, I wish we could both see you all the time. We're trying to sort it out, you know…_I wish I could mend everything. Make it all work. It's not easy_."

Her voice cracked, as recollections rushed from the very recesses of her brain to mock her, and remind her of all the great and gruesome memories she'd spent with Ron, her one true love, had gone to waste. That they hadn't aged with grace, that their occupations and dreams were far too different to be compatible, and their children had to suffer for it.

Rosie said little after; several silent minutes passed and Hermione was suddenly freed. The creak of a chair signalling the departure of Rose from the room. A bit of shuffling and then she could hear the whistling of the kettle from the kitchen.

"Tea fixes everything. I'm fairly certain that's an ancient Granger proverb," Rose stated, coming back in with two steaming mugs, a dollop of milk in each, just how they preferred. Then she chuckled, the red rims around her eyes slowly lessening with each laugh.

"Thanks, darling. Now, tell my me all about this boy. And then if you're still hung up on him, we can practice saying hello and goodbye in Dutch."  
And as Rosie exploded into nonsensical strings of speech, gushing and worrying all with maximum expression on a face allowed, as if no sad conversation had just happened, Hermione couldn't wipe the grin off her face.


	2. Surprises

**_Author's Note: In case it wasn't clear from the description, this is a pairing of Draco/Hermione AND Rose/Scorpius. I've never attempted a third generation fic where the kids were really involved and I wanted to. Cheers xx_**

* * *

_Chapter 2: Surprises_

The light flooding in from that fucking crack in the ugly floral curtains were what woke up Scorpius the day after the row.

Nearly 2 in the afternoon, and he was still exhausted, up for most of the night with rage in his stomach, slowly ebbing to a different feeling, one that almost felt like remorse.

Groaning, he rolled over to the other side of the bed next to the window and sat up. Then drew them; thrusting himself into the sun like ripping off a bandage. The Amstel _was_ gorgeous, a fact he reluctantly admitted. Daddy had bought an amazing property right on the river, amongst the filthy Muggles. But the view was hardly redeeming from being stuck inside for all eternity. Exploring when you can't speak Dutch, when you're a _Wizard_, was difficult. _You _try walking a fair ways to get a simple burger and end up with a sausage instead, no refunds.

Rubbing his eyes, donning the grey striped robe that lay on his heap of clothing on the floor, he lifted himself up with gangly legs and sought out some sustenance. Reaching the kitchen on the main floor, a heavy weight dropped in his stomach, as if he swallowed a stone. Lying on the glass breakfast table was a book: _Wi-Fi for Wizards._

And something else; a giant white package, beside it a smaller one. There was parchment, a note scrawled on it addressed to him atop the latter:

_Sorry I got so cross.  
I love you._

_Xx Dad_

Pictured on his box was the computer he wanted, the exact model. And a new phone from the same company. The ones he dreamed about, the very ones everyone at school always talked about. All for him.

He recalled his father leaving so early this morning, 6 am. He never left the house.  
The biggest question on Scorpius' mind was _how did he know_? How did he know this is the laptop he wanted? How did he know where to get it?

Feeling smaller than the tiniest of dust specs, he was too busy fighting off the excitement to be consumed by guilt.

The unboxing process was not a mystical, religious experience as Scorpius had thought it would be so many times; but it didn't matter. Tedious to set the phone and the laptop up, with all the passwords and figuring out the interfaces; but it didn't matter. He had internet access , the password posted on a sticky on the computer lid, he was installing _all _the social media applications his friends had. Ringing Gav ASAP to tell him about his new toys.

He was so immersed in a call and figuring out how a web cam worked that he barely noticed his father coming home. Only when the door slammed did he realize he`d been online for nearly four hours.

"_Gav, _gotta go, yeh. I'll ring you in an hour, bye."  
Carefully shutting the screen, slipping the phone into his jeans, Draco was not prepared to be engulfed in an exuberant embrace as he kicked off his oxfords.

"_I'm so sorry about what I said, I was being an insufferable trollop,"_ Scorpius mumbled into his collar, letting go briefly with a puppy dog stare before hugging him again.

His arms wound round his son too, wondering when it happened that he now reached just past his shoulders.

"Next time, you know you could just say please, and not go on a tirade when I say I have to think about buying something for you. I understand what it's like wanting to fit in and be popular and that, but it's very hard not to react when you bring that absolute trash heap into the conversation," Draco said, ruffling Scorpius' hair.

"_Stop it," _ he replied, ducking down with a goofy smirk, holding his father's hands and slapping them away. "Honestly, I didn't mean it, I just usually ask you for things and you say yes, I've been a terrible brat."

"No, you got that from me. Truth be told, I wish I could avoid technology forever, but if you want it when you're here, who am I to, what did you say? Throw you into the Stone Age?" he explained, strolling into the reading room and falling onto his leather recliner. Scorpius followed, leaning in the doorway. Looking down, Draco inhaled, deciding to say what he wanted to. "You know, Scorpius…When you said we had nothing in common, it really hurt me. It is fairly true, but the little things we do fancy, like Quidditch, like _vanity," _he chuckled, "I haven't been allowed the opportunity to participate in with you because I don't see you. I was angry because I try so hard to _fight _for you, with nothing achieved in nearly 11 years."

Swallowing pride, Draco felt a hand on his shoulder, then the soft thump of his son sitting down on the sofa beside him. Glancing at him, he didnt comment on the tear rolling down Scorpius' cheek.  
"Well….we do now, don't we?" he was saying, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "Have time, I mean. Got two whole months! We should fly, if you're not busy…go shopping maybe? Where were you anyways?"

"Went out to submit my book to publishers. I haven't had any offers in our world, I figured I should try Muggle Muggle Land," he shrugged, to the stare of bemusement.

"_Really? _That's great, Dad…"

"Suppose so."

"No, it is! You know when I said we had nothing in common, I just meant that you seem to be wrapped up in solitary Wizard confinement….but maybe you're finally trying not to be? I just don't understand your way of thinking, like I can't believe you don't even have a phone. Or a television. There's a world full of films and shows you probably would love."

"I prefer writing, son, gets me through the day," Draco replied, opening his tan briefcase to pull out his ever filling notebook. "And I rarely use my wand, don't I?"

"You are _so _weird. You know you could post your poems and things online, get your name out," Scorpius suggested. "And having a phone too might help if you actually are serious about getting published? I know you don't need a job, but it probably gets so bloody boring and annoying to get no recognition for hard work? Surely out of the millions of muggles, some might like your poetry? How will they contact you then?"

Grimacing, Draco ran ideas through his head; how could he explain this?  
"Just not interested in being contacted. It would be nice to print a book is all. Look, son, I don't want you to get the wrong idea. I just don't like keeping in touch, I'm a bitter old man you see."

"What wrong idea would I get pray tell?"

"That I'm Anti-Muggle. I'm not. I'll admit I used to care about it…it used to be a very big deal, but nowadays I just don't want to know people from my youth. I was a big dickhead. And I'm sure you can guess who I got the majority of my nastiness from."

"_Granddad," _Scorpius spat, rolling his eyes.

"Precisely. But it was my fault still. You know how he is, used to put so much pressure on me to fit in, make connections with anybody except muggleborns, and be so cool and good at everything. Be a model Slytherin. Didn't work even though I tried. But I was a bully because he always bought me new robes, the best stuff, spoiled me like a fool and conditioned me to think I was better because of the fact we had pureblood and galleons. And I treated other people as such."

"So….did you think maybe I'd end up that way?"

"No. You know much better. I just didn't want you to be raised like that. Still, with your mum, we've definitely tried to buy your love…."

"Okay, well, what does that have to do with being Anti-Muggle?"

"Technology to me is a lost concept. By choice. Look, son, most people don't like me. It's why your mother eventually left, she couldn't handle the flak and the past. All my hang ups are from then. I've accepted the public opnion now, and I don't really give enough of a toss to try and change it all so I let it go and moved here. My only priority now is you. With all this new crap to get that's leaked into the wizard world, I thought perhaps you'd end up wanting all this stuff. To 'be the best'. But you're great, much better than I was, even when you have the 'stuff'. So it's _all_ going to be fine."

Contemplating the speech, Draco allowed his son to think about what he'd said, fumbling around in his pockets, trying to resist the craving to smoke. It was his second time quitting this week.  
It was a heavy pill to swallow, admitting to Scorpius his innermost insecurities, to have to explain to him why he acted in such a manner that made him a recluse.

"You know…Mum was worried too. She said I'd get entitlement from you, but she was being unkind. I don't think I'm a bully. I don't think I'm better than anyone because you can buy me nice uniforms and a top notch computer…or because of our blood. It's weird to think anyone did, to be honest."

"Yes. It is all quite a ridiculous memory looking back," Draco said, rocking back the chair staring at the grooves in the ceiling.

Gazing at his father, appearing more like a child than a parent, Scorpius was struck with curiosity. "Dad…I know we're not really supposed to talk about it, but, I mean…Granddad cared about blood and that because he was forced to, right?"

"Forced? No, definitely not," Draco laughed, shaking his head recollecting a random stream of memories that proved the theory false. "Why do you ask?"

"Just…at school we were learning about the war."  
Tensing in the chair, Draco covered his left arm with his right, a bit too quickly.  
"You and mother don't really like discussing it with me, but I had no idea that Nana lied to Voldemort, _sorry, _You Know Who," he corrected as his father winced. "I mean, if she hadn't Harry Potter probably wouldn't have survived, right? Surely she wasn't the same as granddad? She's in Harry Potter's autobiography!"

"You've read that then," Draco conceded in a flat tone.

"Yes. I know you warned me about it, it was mandatory though. No one really cares, by the way. That you…that you and granddad were…." he couldn't finish. "No one's given me grief except last year in history of magic, when this bellend Jeremy Simmons called me a, well, you know, a _Death Eater._ Bugger got detention for _two weeks._"

"I see."  
As stoic as the blandest of stone statues, Scorpius tread carefully, this face all too familiar.

"Is this making you cross, dad?"

The tiny voice in comparison to his previous volume, and Draco actually had to stare at Scorpius, left in the dark about his family's past because it was too grim. He sighed.

"No, son. It's remembering what I've done that is. Not all of it is my fault, but there were so many opportunities that I had to get out and I was too afraid when it mattered. Thought of myself as a big shot until I was in too deep. Sometimes I can't look at myself properly in the mirror, think that maybe I deserve all this crap I've been dealt. Maybe it's my fault I've ended up alone at 35."

"_Dad –"_

Scorpius tried to apologize for asking questions as his father scratched his left forearm overtop his sleeve. This pained expression one he'd never seen his dad wear.  
"It's not your fault, Scorpius, you're old enough now to be learning about everything. It's so recent in memory that it would be foolish not to know about it. I just hope you don't think ill of me after seeing what Potter wrote about me. Because as much as I would like to say its embellished….knowing him it's probably all true."

His son leant in, grabbing his hand that was picking at the deadened mark on his skin and stared into the grey with fervent green:  
"You're my dad, I don't care what anyone else says. You were my age, I wouldn't know how to be a bloody Death Eater, would I? And it only happened because Granddad's a git. I just want to know that you don't care about blood. That you don't care if someone is a muggle."

It made Draco want to laugh and cry at the same moment, hearing the words 'I don't care'. Allowed him the ability to speak freely again.

"I don't. I used to. I guess after all these years, I'm just afraid of talking to people I used to know, because they`ll remember me how I _was_. It's why I moved here, it's why I am a loner, I think. If I'm honest with you. Never wanted you to think I was such a loser..."

"No offense, dad, but I've never thought you were cool," Scorpius teased, earning another hair ruffle.

"Fair enough. My father didn't like muggles, still doesn't, but our family only turned our backs on them when the Statute of Secrecy was implemented, saying we shouldn't associate with them unless necessary. A habit we've yet to break. But I realize now we're all flesh and blood and bone, I only disliked muggleborns because I was told I should. Being a pureblood was a big deal. Now everyone is mixed it seems, it just isn't a thing anymore, it died out when You Know Who did."

"Good," the boy replied, exhaling slightly, as if in silent relief.

"_Why_ exactly, does it matter so much to you that I'm not a bigot?"

"Erm, this is gonna sound stupid, but part of the reason I was being such a tosser last night is because…well I think….I _think I'm in love."  
_Adopting a blank face, this was not the answer he expected at all.

"_Love?"_

"Yeah. I wanted to talk to her. And I want to see her, but she's half blood. I couldn't really bring her round if you were gonna go full Lucius Malfoy on her.'

"Be kinder to granddad, he's an old man who is going senile," Draco said deadpan, holding in the giggle at the base of his throat as Scorpius snorted.

"Sorry. Just I really wanted to talk to her, see, I was anxious that maybe she had found another boyfriend, it's been so long! Almost a week! Merlin, she's so fit dad. Like, so fit, and she's really smart too!"

"_Woah, _hold on. You've had a girlfriend and not told me?"  
Father of the Year withheld on his dust shelf, he still was hurt he wasn't informed of such an important milestone.

"Well we're not exactly exclusive, which is why I wanted to make it so!"

"Shit, well does everything work properly then? On the laptop? I got the blue light to turn on the modem thing so I figured it must've. Have you spoken to her?"

"_Dad, _you said 'shit'!" Scorpius snickered, while Draco waved it away. "Yes, it's fine, I just don't have her number and she hasn't responded to my e-mail, she must have gone out or something."

"Right. Wait, so does she go to Hogwarts then?"

"_Uh, _duh! How would I have met a wizard girl in Amsterdam in like 5 days?"

"Don't talk to me like I'm stupid, who is it then? If you're so worried?"  
Amused now, the grin was wiped off his face at the immediate response, as Scorpius rubbed the back of his head with his hand and smiled at the ground.

"Her name is Rose, Rose Weasley. She told me earlier this year that her dad used to know you. _Hated _you too."

{}

"Rose is in love with Draco Malfoy's son."

"_What?"_  
Ginny damn near spat out her pint, eyes widening like the world was ending.

"Yes, she told me yesterday. And it wasn't silly young love, like Viktor and I you know, I could tell she actually cared for him by the way she talked about him. Was very worried he'd lost interest, hasn't been contacting her. I assured her it's because he's living in Amsterdam for the summer, that's where Draco lives now. Apparently _Scorpius _is very popular and very nice…and very attractive," Hermione groaned, slamming her head to the back of the booth.

They were in their favourite pub in Islington, where she and Ron had moved 5 years ago, after the Auror promotion, after she became Deputy Head.

"_God. _What are you going to do? Does Ron know? He probably would have a heart attack."  
Hermione immensely appreciated that her best friend was never careful, and never treaded, around mentioning his name.

"Yes, she told him. Apparently he went off on a tirade about how terrible Draco is, how she should date someone better. Typical Ron…."  
Sitting up, she trailed her fingers from her temple to her chin, frustrated.

"You're not going to deprive her of her first love are you?"

Draining the remnants of her glass, Hermione slammed it on the table.  
"_No_, I am not. I want to meet Scorpius, and I hope that if anything, he's the exact opposite of how I've pictured him in my brain. Because even if he's a complete arse, I don't think I could tell Rose to stop seeing him. She would only desire it more. A small part of me hopes that he has moved on and doesn't want to date her, but it's Rose, who _wouldn't_ want to?"

Ginny laughed: "A _small _part?"

"Okay, a large part. But I haven't seen Malfoy since we were what, 17? I think I can handle talking to him for five minutes. And considering he's taking care of a child of the same age, with an apparent stud of a son, certainly he can watch over two teenagers."

"You're a great mum, you are."

"Thanks," she smiled, signalling the waiter for another round. "I think not letting her see him because I used to hate her father is a pretty invalid reason. And considering the big lesson we're trying to implement is _tolerance _at the ministry and just in life in general, I think I'd be a little hypocritical no?"

"Mmm. Well, Harry's gonna flip. Whenever it is I decide to tell him. I'm surprised Ron hasn't yet, actually, but I suppose she just got back."

"Yeah, well, Harry and Ron were always going to have a sore spot for the Malfoy's. Don't blame them really, but we're adults. And she's only 16, who knows how long this'll last? Hugo told me she was talking to Dominique on the phone about him, actually. Guess she's just better at discretion otherwise I'm sure Teddy, Victoire or even Bill might've mentioned it."

"Definitely. It'll get easier to deal with once the first lad she dates comes home, it'll prepare you for Hugo. Honestly, I'm happy Albus is far more reserved than James, it was bad enough James always has to be such the ladies' man, different girlfriend every week," Ginny grinned, shaking her head. "And Rosie is so smart, even if she's a bit lovesick, she would _never _let some dumb boy push her round. _You _never did."

"Yeah, you're right."

Two more beers were placed before them, and Hermione thanked the server then took a sip with a happier demeanour.

"It'll be fine. Only have to worry if she wants to visit him. And even then, it won't be a problem for _you." _Raising her eyebrows, Hermione couldn't help but chuckle at Ginny' malicious intent.

"Yeah but I'd worry. It would be the kind of trip that she'd likely need to sleep over at. I suppose I could pick her up at the end of the night, but if I were allowed to visit Amsterdam, I'd want to stay longer…. I fully intend on escorting her to their home once Rosie sorts out what their relationship is. _God, _why does it have to be a _Malfoy_ though? Of all people?"

"To torture you. And it's not as if he was raised by Lucius Malfoy, or just Draco alone."

"True. _Going to be awkward as hell still,_" she murmured.

"_Ohhh yeah. _But then, you'll have a happy Rose and a grateful daughter. In other news, Harry and I are having a barbeque. On Friday. You should come."

"Are you – "

"Inviting Ron?" she interrupted. "Well yeah. But it's a children's affair as well, it would be nice to have them altogether. And we can make tons of sangria, "she 'whispered' covering the side of her mouth with a hand. "If you're drunk you won't care as much."

"Alright, I suppose I can tolerate it for a few hours… just keep him away from me."

"Is he _still _sending you letters?"

"Yes. I don't read them anymore, they're either telling me I'm being a bitch, not trying hard enough to sort this out, 'think of the kids', or else it's a romantic letter confessing that he still loves me so much. I think he's trying to repress the side of him that know it's over and it's leaking out of his fingers when he writes."

Sympathetic expression on her face, and Ginny cleared her throat, clearing it to something more jovial.  
"He's just more emotional than you, always was guided by that over sense. Guess there's no glimmer of hope then?"

Thinking for a moment, Hermione took a great interest at her coaster, advertising a new ale, before speaking. "No. We've grown apart. Much too busy with work, he was, and suddenly when I was too, when I got promoted to head, his supreme inferiority complex kicked in."

"As always," Ron's sister muttered.

"It was always me taking care of the kids when he couldn't get somebody else too, he insisted his work was much more important than mine even if he didn't phrase it like that. All he would talk about is 'the next big project' at the Auror office. Anytime I got excited about a new law I was working on, he would get quiet and show no interest. Started worrying that he wasn't good enough for me such juvenile nonsense. God we barely even had _sex, _I feel as if the reason we carried on for so long is because of Rose and Hugo. He's just such an amazing father, such a good person, and I didn't want to let that go."

"I know. And I wish it hadn't ended up that way. But you can't let somebody hold you back or try to one up you because they don't feel fulfilled or good enough."

Hermione could tell it pained her deeply to admit this of her brother, of anyone in her family. It was times like these, when she was so low in the ground she could disappear into a void, that she was plucked back up into sunlight knowing there existed people around her to help.  
"Tell Harry I'll bring the booze. He's always rubbish at picking out wine."

Smiles on their faces, they drank two more pitchers until the moon was fully out, and work was in less than eight hours.


	3. Plans

_Chapter 3: Plans _

The second last month of classes, he noticed she always giggled at his snarky remarks during Defence Against the Dark Arts; James Potter's younger, quite attractive, cousin. In the halls where they crossed paths before Herbology and after Divination, there was always a timid 'Hi Scorpius' with a tiny wave as they both went their separate ways. And when he would reply 'Hey Rose', her cheeks matched the hue of her hair.

Maybe it was because he had said 'nice goal, you really got me' after the final match of the season when Gryffindor won the cup. Maybe because he had smiled at her that time she blew up her shrinking potion because she got soot all over the tiny freckles that scattered her nose, and maybe because he helped her clean up the station afterwards.

Whatever the reason, somehow or another they'd ended up speaking to each other every day, he couldn't remember the date it began. He just remembered strolling along the shore of the Black Lake on the warm spring weekends, she'd ask him to help study for final exams together under 'their' birch tree for three weeks straight. And during the leaving feast, she had sat beside him at the Slytherin table, gazing into his eyes, fingers inches from him. The small talk was awkward, the tension palpable, she was an uncharacteristic nervous wreck.

Maybe he had done something wrong.

"What's the matter?" he had asked.

"I just – I – you know, now that term is over I'll miss you," she smiled, revealing pretty white teeth for a moment, before looking away, exhaling. As if that wasn't what she meant to say.

Feeling for her hand under the table, their lips met when he melted his onto hers, tender and quick: "I will too."

The weeks of being self-conscious, unsure, came to a halt in that moment, the best moment in his life so far. 'Message me', she had told him, scrawling a number on a slip, and a few days ago he finally had the chance. He'd lost the parchment, somewhere between England and the Netherlands, but now with a little help from his friends he was texting her non-stop. Now he could call her, and presently could _see _her.

She was going on and on about some book series. The main theme included robots, whatever they were, but he was just content to listen to the drivel. The way she lit up when she spoke was enough of a disruption in a normal train of thought, Scorpius was happy not to speak. Notwithstanding the way she was just in pajamas and a sweater, her hair pushed back into a messy bun; perhaps he was one of the only boys to see her like this.

"You look _totally _lost in the clouds, god, am I boring you? I'm sorry. I just _cannot _stop reading. I've been inside all day being a complete recluse. What have you been up to?"  
Rosie always spoke rushed when she was flustered. It might have been one of his favourite features.

"Not boring me at all, I'm just a bit distracted by how cute you are when you're passionate," he said placing is head in both hands, tilting so white blond bangs were covering half his face.

"_Oh, really?" _she replied, shaking her head as the blush crept up her face, "you don't have to lie."

"I'm _not _lying, _rude." _And he stuck out his tongue."And I haven't been doing anything. Just waiting to come see _you."_

"Did you prepare a set of sentences to say before this? To charm me and make me anxious to see you in the flesh?"

"Why, is it working?"

"_Maybe_," Rose laughed, raising an eyebrow. "Although I don't know what exactly we would _do. _Pretty boring in this part of London. Amsterdam must be so exciting!"

"Stuffed if I know, I haven't done a thing here except cross a bridge and walk along the Amstel," he replied, watching her face drop slightly. "Uh, well, I think I just need someone, AKA you, to come make it fun with me. Already told my dad about it, but I wasn't entirely sure if you wanted me to visit first or vice versa."

"_Nice save…._wait, you told your father about me?"

In her bedroom, Rose wasn't entirely sure if she was dreaming. The most popular boy in sixth year, nay seventh, was speaking with her on a _video chat_. _Flirting _with her. Told his dad about her! After he had kissed her and said he would miss her back. All her friends had told her not to hold her breath, that he'd pulled this stunt before, allowing himself to give girls special attention for a few weeks then rejecting them when they showed a more than friendly interest. But here he was; without his glasses, lying on his bed, hinting at wanting to meet up. Asking _her _to talk to him late at night when everyone was in bed. She called Abigail Longbottom, telling her of their 'date' after the text exchange, the reaction being her shrieking so loud through the phone her poor mother had wondered if someone was in trouble.

"Well, yeah," Scorpius was replying, pink about the ears. "Didn't – didn't you?"

_Oh my god, _Rosie mused, _he's actually nervous. About me!_

"Of course I did. Given our parents 'history' though, I figured maybe you were nervous? I've read quite a bit about what happened when our parents were young, obviously. Tried to get a bit better of an understanding of the whole situation between them if you know what I mean, because it's a bit complicated. Your grandfather, grandmother, and dad are mentioned in my uncle Harry's biography, did you know?"

"Yeah, I told him," Scorpius chuckled, a short time before rubbing the back of his head with a hand, his tone a bit higher than normal. "He isn't too pleased about it, us having to read it. Thinks it'll reflect on him badly. Must be very weird for you to be related to such well known wizards, when they're on the 'good side'. Is it?"  
And then, Rosie started to understand, perhaps he was nervous about a bit more than just _her._

"Generally, no. Mostly I only get old people saying odd things, act like it's a grand ordeal to meet me, the offspring of the 'Brightest Witch, Hermione Granger,'" she repeated in an announcers voice, causing Scorpius to snicker. "And 'brave Ronald Weasley'. _Ugh. _Sometimes mum even comes in to guest teach Muggle Studies for third years you know, _ew_. I just, like, it was difficult to reason with my parents, maybe it would be more to reason with yours. Given the stigma about being associated with, well, dark magic?"  
Scrunching his nose, Rose forced a neutral expression, wondering how difficult it may be to have an ex Death Eater for a father, hoping the words she just said didn't sting too much. Blunt as she was, one of her worst vices was forgetting to think before she spoke half the time. It was a bad combo to be blessed with.

"Yeah…when I told him I liked you his face went white, and that's definitely saying something given my skin tone." Rose couldn't help the giggle rising from her throat. "Groaned for a few seconds, then he was mumbling to himself, but he actually agreed to taking me to see you and to you coming over. I'll bet you ten galleons he's only worried about meeting with your parents. Which makes sense I suppose, seeing as your dad hates his guts."

"_Ugh,_ yeah dad was being such an insufferable moron today, my aunt was having a barbeque, you see. He told me under no circumstance would you ever be allowed over because of who you dad is...but my mum said as long as I were here, it would be fine. She just wants to 'have a chat', probably to ensure that when I come to visit he keeps 24/7 watch on us like she no doubt will."

Rolling her eyes to the back of her skull, she didn't have time to notice Scorpius swallow a lump in his throat before smoothing his hair back for maximum composure.  
"Does your dad think I'm trouble then…?"

"Does your dad think I'm a lesser being?"  
Testy retort to a loaded question, but it was met with a steadfast response.

"No. No, of course not. Blood is not an issue anymore."

"Exactly. My dad is a bit of a grudge holder, mum told me the lasting hatred towards you, 'The Malfoy's'," she emphasized, "was more of a personal vendetta during school over, you know, dabbling with being an _ahem, _'bad guy'. I mean, your family was pardoned by the Ministry, your grandma like, saved the day, right? I'm sure once my mum meets you, and sees how great you are, it'll all be in the clear."

"So _you_ don't think I'm trouble then?"  
He was heaving a sigh of great relief.

"Not at all…well, maybe the good kind," she teased, "I wouldn't worry. Wouldn't worry one bit."

"Brilliant. Then I won't either."  
His great big smiled caused a fluttering within her chest, the banging on the door making her jump so high her headphones fell off her ears. Grabbing them off her lap, she waited for a lecture.

"_Rose, it's nearly 2 in the morning, what are you doing?"  
_Hermione's inflection was one filled of sleepiness (and probable intoxication) and not anger; Rose breathed a bit easier, signalling to her hopeful boy 'one second'.

"Just talking to Scorpius mum, I'll be done really soon. Sorry if I woke you up!"

In her peripherals she noticed Scorpius shaking. No doubt her doe eyes, the ones that were wide as saucers in times of apprehension, adding to her high-pitch, was making him highly amused. She signalled something a little more vulgar.

"…_Okay sweetheart. Just get to sleep soon. And it's alright, be glad it's only Friday."_

"Night!"  
Replacing her headphones, she was glaring. The man across the ocean in her screen was in hysterics, mouth wide open. She waited until the sound of her mother's footsteps disappeared before telling him off.  
"_Was it _really _that hilarious? To be imitating a banshee?"_

"_Fuck, _I'm so sorry, Merlin, just when you were startled the look on your face. So good."

"_Ha ha, _well I have to log off for the night." She had to struggle to keep the grin off as he emitted a tsk of protest. "Ah _ah, _I wish I could talk longer, but I don't want to get in the bad graces of Mrs. Weasley. Besides we need to sleep, maybe we can hang out in the afternoon? Today? It's the weekend, I'm sure it'll be fine. We could play Quidditch or something, that would definitely make my mum leave us alone. Though it's likely she'll ask you to stay for dinner."

"Quidditch? Hell yeah, I am so down. And supper is always nice. I will ask my father as soon as the sun rises. And let you know?"  
Enthusiastic fist pump and a sparkle in his eyes, Rose was on Cloud 9.

"Sounds like a plan. Guess I should go then…"

"_Yeah_. It was nice finally talking to you. I really _like_ talking to you."

"I like talking to you too." She paused. She chickened out. "Good night, Scorpius."

"Night Rose."

She hit disconnect, waving gently as the window faded to black. She closed the lid of her laptop, tearing off her sweater, letting her hair down. Jumping on her bed from her desk to lay underneath her duvet, she began thinking of the way _Rose _lilted off his tongue as he spoke her name. Of the subconscious way he seemed to lick his upper lip when he was trying not to laugh or smile.  
And she was going to see him tomorrow, for a little one on one. With a bit of luck, she could hold his hand again, she could kiss him first this time.

A tiny beep resonated from the floor, where she had cast her clothes. Leaning down to rifle through the pile, where her cell was, she could already see the message on the screen: _See you tomorrow X :)_

"_He's so perfect," _she exhaled, hugging the stuffed red dragon to her heart, letting dreams take over with a blond headed boy in mind.

{}

"_Tell me again why we're doing this?"  
_Sweat was dripping off Scorpius, from his brow, under from his arms and down his legs. Puffing and wheezing would be an understatement as his father seemed miles ahead.

"_Because,_ all you do is go on that damn computer or play with your phone! If you want to become better at Quidditch, and keep up your current level, you may want to exercise more," Draco was yelling from up the boardwalk, turning on his heels to face his son lagging behind him. "Besides, it's good for you!"

_That's rich coming from the dad who's never seen one of my matches!  
_Grouchy temper from a teenage boy, but he couldn't help it, he hadn't eaten yet and it was almost 12 pm.

"Not if I die on the way!" Scorpius shouted with cupped hands, cursing the beating sun and the reflection off the river hitting his direct vision.

"Only ten more minutes, you can do it!"

_Why does he do this every day?_ Is what kept the boy on his feet, still going, eager to catch up and ask his dad. Eleven years separated, and so far as Scorpius knw, he had never brought home another girl or introduced him to one however briefly. And really, what was the point of having a hot body if nobody but your damn child was around to admire it? If you live a long life because you're in in shape, being solitary in said life seemed pretty damn useless.

Lungs plunging into his throat as they reached the threshold, Scorpius pushed past his dad into the kitchen to refill his water, gasping for air.

"So dramatic you are," Draco was chuckling, stretching out his calves after he was comfortably inside the house.

"_No, _you made me run for a damned hour, _who does that? _Why do you?" Scorpius inquired, tearing open the refrigerator, searching for _anything _he could shove into his mouth.

"Makes me feel good," Draco shrugged, walking next to his son, "Keeps me healthy, and" he continued, pulling Scorpius out and shutting the door, "gets me out of this place."

"_I'm starving, I AM STARVING. _I need to eat!" he stomped his foot, to which his father responded by shaking his head.

"If you hadn't woken up so late, you'd have something in your stomach. Drop and give me 30 and I'll make you whatever you want," Draco coaxed, instructing him in a low tone to tiny sounds of objection. "Look, I can make you French toast, I bought pumpkin juice too."

"Dad, _noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo."  
_Crumbling to the floor, Scorpius slumped against the cabinets.

"Hey, you're the one who told me this morning you were worried about playing against a Chaser, the girl you like no less. That position is the most physically demanding. If you want to keep up you have to do more than just sit around."

"But _dad, _that's what everyone does. I can keep up. Come on, that's all _you_ do!"

"I run every day for at least an hour, and before I shower in the mornings, then before I rest, I do some strength exercises. Yes I do hole myself up in my study probably a lot more than is necessary, but it took me a long time to realize that it's important to try a little to keep healthy."

"Rose isn't gonna give a toss if I'm 'healthy',"  
he mumbled.

"No, but if she's so attractive as you say, maybe you're in competition? Don't you want to hook her with more than just your silly tantrums?"

"I _am _fit!" he pouted, suddenly deciding to roll onto his forearms to begin the strenuous session of push ups. "She, _ugh,_ said so yesterday. All the girls talk about me, I'm the 'best in the year'."

Throwing his head back, Draco just laughed.  
"_What! _She did!"

"Certainly she did, but that's because she wants you to feel good, son."

"_5, ugh, 6 – _regardless, your tactics aren't making much sense. You want me to work out to be healthy, 8, and then you want me to do it for the lasses. Why don't _you _go out and get a woman, then? If being so damn sprightly helps with it?"

The pained expression coming onto Draco's face caused the boy on the ground to mutter a half-assed apology, as his father reached up to grab the frying pan from above the sink.  
"Astoria – your mum – was the love of my life, Scorpius. Right after the war ended, and we crossed paths, she was very understanding and open to listen to my woes. That summer I fell too hard for the first person who didn't treat me like I had an ongoing agenda. Problem being that I never got over my issues, and eventually she couldn't be my hand to hold anymore. You were quite young but when she left I stopped eating, stopped sleeping, and I could barely bring myself to go outside. I was a walking corpse with all the weight I lost, and I don't want to go back there again, alright?"

Reaching the goal, Scorpius stopped to stare up at Draco, who was ready with a rather large knife to slice the bread on a cutting board, staring at the blade as if it held the secrets to why his life was so wrong.

"Do you think you'll ever date again, though, dad? Come on, you're _so_ good looking," he prod as he rose up from the tile, nudging into his shoulder, noticing the tiniest hint of a smirk spread onto Draco's face.

"One day, I'm sure. At this rate though it's going to have to be a _muggle_. Going out today to meet old classmates has made me realize I do _not _want to venture back into the wizarding world past Diagon Alley and the markets here, if I can avoid it."

"A _muggle, _dad? Granddad would have a heart attack," he giggled. "Is it really so bad? What the hell did you even _do _to Mrs. Weasley?" Scorpius asked, raising a concerned brow as he sat on the island where breakfast was being made.

"A _lot_. Called her the 'm' word, my father was very adamant in making sure she was uncomfortable being a muggleborn. Just, you don't need to know."

Scorpius was incredulous. "_Really,_ the 'm' word? I wanna know!"  
Now as extreme as a racial slur, the boy was in utter sock that his father would dare curse like this.

"I made it a reoccurring event to mess up Harry Potter's plans, she was caught in the crossfire of it. I made a hell of a lot of fun of her husband's family, their lack of wealth in particular. The low point was going to see a hippogriff get executed because it slashed me in third, when I provoked it initially to hurt me, and taunted her about it. She slapped me."

"_She slapped you?"_

"Yes. truly, I was an all-round spectacular dick."  
Cracking the egg into a bowl, with cinnamon, he shook his head at the memories as he mixed.

"God, what did you do then to Rose's _dad? _He despises you. Hopefully you won't have to meet with him unless completely necessary," Scorpius thought aloud, whipping off his stained shirt now that it was soaked.

"What do you mean? I'm going to have to meet with him today, it's Saturday. Even Auror's get time off."  
Laying the bread into the pan, Draco sought out the maple syrup and sugar, placing them next to the plates Scorpius had set out.

"No, _dad,_ did you not know? Rose's parents don't live together anymore. She's going back and forth now with Hugo, her brother," Scorpius explained, as if her were daft with hands outstretched. "In any case, Mr. Weasley doesn't want a thing to do with me but her mum said it was fine if I came over so long as we got to chat."

"_What?"  
_This was news to his ears. As his son began to explain his worries and woes about visiting a potential girlfriend's house, of the impression he'd make, the words all faded into a slight buzzing sound that was flooding Draco's head. Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley had separated, if not divorced. And though the thought could have warmed him a bit, letting him relish in the fact he wasn't the only screw up when it came to love, he had instead an overwhelming desire to know the reasons for their split.

Because they had been absolutely, insufferably, nauseating when the press was still hanging onto the Golden Trio's every action, and now, with two children and successful careers, they may just be miserable like him?

More to the point, Hermione was allowing his son to visit; surely she would be more concerned about the damage a pureblood related to a Malfoy could inflict on her still maturing daughter over a daft Weasley, pure blooded himself?

"_Dad, are you listening?"_

Scooping the completed meal onto a plate, his sons favourite, he shoved it in front of him.

"Scorpius, it will be fine, just be friendly and personable, most of all polite. If this girl already likes you, don't try and change how you act now that it's getting serious. Anyways, I'm going to shower, I suggest you do the same."

From his tone there was no more protest.

Half an hour later, with their naked bodies under the stream of hot water, the two men were lost in respective thoughts. Unbeknownst to each other, across the house from one another, they both had women on their mind.

Scorpius was still catching his breath, but his pulse was running for a different reason. Tonight he had an opportunity to _make out, _perhaps more. He'd be up close and personal on the pitch, able to display his skills to the prettiest girl he knew. And it thrilled him, his hands snaking down low between his thighs, stifling groans escaping his lips as he took a bit too long to finish washing his hair.

Draco stood, no movement for minutes, thinking about what conversation he may engage in with the girl he used to despise, and she him. What words could he say to convey that the scars he had surely left were nothing but meaningless drivel, his actions a daily regret? Gazing at the faded skull and snake on his wet forearm, he decided there was nothing.

Two hours later he had collected the third generation Cirrus broomstick he'd bought Scorpius for Christmas last year, waiting in an armchair for his son. His son, who was standing in front of the mirror, loathing the fact his retinas decided not to work properly at birth so he had to wear glasses all the time. Pushing his hefty bangs aside, another strike on his physical record was inheriting the Malfoy starch-white hair and skin, surely looking like a skinny ghost.

"_Ah, fuck it."  
_Spritzing on two dabs of cologne, imported from some Swiss place he could care less about, he threw his plaid button down into a bag, on top of his padding, shoving a pair of black jeans over his Quidditch trousers. Flexing once in the mirror, his Slytherin summer jersey revealing his bare arms, he sighed.  
_"Wonder how long it actually takes for muscle definition to show_…"

Jumping mindlessly down the staircase, he heard his father call out: "Ready to go, then? Wait, you're going to wear _that?_"

It was a bit funny, seeing his dad in a black blazer and grey business slacks, a white t-shirt underneath. Dressed up more than usual considering he wasn't the one going on a date, his shorter hair swept to the side. Scorpius felt wise not to mention it.  
"Dad, I'm playing Quidditch. I have a shirt in the pack," he grinned. "What, did you want me to wear a suit or something?"

"It would be a sign of respect, yeah," Draco enlightened his son, standing up to take his hefty duffel for him, exchanging it for the broom. "Here you hold this."

"We aren't living in the 1800's dad, Merlin. Casual dress is fine, it's not like we're attending a _soiree_," he enunciated with a smirk.

"Clearly. Don't you want to make more of an effort for your date? Surely she'll have spent hours getting ready?"

"_Uh, _no. Since when are _you _an expert on love?" Scorpius taunted, hitting his father playfully.

"I was a teenager once, you know, I had a girlfriend before your mother."

"_Blah blah blah, _I know, I know. Pansy Parkinson, she was a bitch. _Gross. _Her son is a year below me, he's so ugly and rude. Anyways, let's go!"

With that jab, causing a small smile to form, Draco nodded and fought very hard not to comment. Then the realization of where he was about to go hit, sobering him of any amusement,

"What's the address again? Without a visual, apparating's more difficult."

"Yeah, sorry, they don't have a Floo connection. It's in Islington, 78 Woodlands Avenue. All magic neighbourhood, Rose said, so don't worry about muggles. I just let her know we're coming now."

"Okay, take my hand."  
He held on tightly to his sons fingers, breathing out all his apprehension, the address burning into his eyelids as he closed them. Then suddenly, he felt nothing but the squeeze of apparition.

The first thought running through his mind when his feet hit the pavement was that it looked exactly like the kind of house Hermione Granger would live in. In a safe friendly suburb, yet close to the city. A pretty brick house, yet not too grandiose nor generic. Likely quite affordable, with the exact dimensions she needed for her family to live in, not too big or too small. A perfectly tended garden took up the majority of the front lawn, a maple tree with a swing crowding the white porch they were presently walking up to.

For once in his life, Draco noticed his son fidgeting, tapping a fast rhythm onto the broom handle he was gripping on for dear life. He was practically sweating. Holding a fist up, about to knock, he exhaled. It was such a classic teenage situation to be caught in; one he`d never had the chance to have. And a prime opportunity to be a dad.

He patted his back, holding his palm there as Scorpius finally built up the nerve to knock on the door.  
"Scorpius, you'll be fine."

"Thanks, dad."


	4. Meeting

**Author's Note: Hi! I know this chapter is short, I am actually travelling to the UK for three weeks in a few hours so I thought I'd post what I had now. I will not have any internet or computer access. I will try to post the next installment in early September :) Thanks for reading!**

* * *

_Chapter 4: Meeting_

It was plainly obvious why Scorpius was head over heels for Rose Weasley.

Greeting them both with a soft 'Hi' she had a shy air; it was coy not timid. Wearing a white lace dress, her smile lit up the doorway as she waved.

Draco was only thankful that her red hair was wild, that her blue eyes and freckles didn't take away from the fact she was petite and clutching a book.

"Hey Rose."  
Though he was meant to be supportive, the puppy dog expression Scorpius currently donned provided it quite difficult for Draco to keep a straight composure.

"Um, _please_, come in."  
Holding out her arm in a welcoming way, she retreated into the house, which smelt of fresh laundry; the floors were spotless, nothing was out of place. Following her inside, Scorpius only focused on her, as she graciously took his broom and bag, bending over to sett it aside on the ground.

Soft tendrils fell over her vision as she stood up straight, a pink flush covering her cheeks as she moved them aside to notice her date gazing at her. Biting her lip and sweeping the strays behind her ears, she proceeded to outstretch her hand to her _other _guest.

"Hello, I'm Rose. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Malfoy."

"Same to you, Rose. You can call me Draco if you like."

The pink deepened to scarlet, as he grinned at her with teeth, ignoring the fact his son had reacted to his words by placing his hands over his face.

"_O-okay,"_ she stuttered, clearing her throat before speaking again. "Um, I hear Amsterdam is lovely. Do you enjoy living there?"

Her question was met with hesitation, he hadn't expected more than two words from a nervous teenager.

"It is quite beautiful, yes. I do very much. Much better than London in my opinion."

Rose was now teetering back and forth on her toes.

"I imagine so! Do you speak Dutch fluently then? How long have you been living there for?"

"No, not yet. Probably not ever. Enough to have a proper conversation," he admitted, causing her to giggle back. "And close to 9 years now I'd wager?"

"Wow that's so long! And your house is along the Amstel? It looks so beautiful in pictures. Scorpius said you don't mind if I visit, thank you so much! I've _always _wanted to go to the Anne Frank House, and the Van Gogh museum. I have never had the time or chance to even go to mainland Europe."

Scorpius was now darting back and forth between looking at his father and his girl, mouth slightly agape.

"Not at all, I'm sure Scorpius would love to show you around, and you'd probably appreciate the culture more than him," Draco finished with a grin.

She giggled again.  
"Uh _Rose, _wasn't your mum supposed to have a chat or something with 'Draco'," Scorpius asked gently, glaring sideways at his father, who raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, well, she's actually…out. Picking up my brother, Hugo. See he takes these afternoon art classes on Saturdays. Apparently though he felt ill, so she went to go pick him up early."

"Oh."  
Silence overtook, at the realization Draco would have to wait for a lecture, and Scorpius and Rose had to postpone their outing.

"Yes…well would you like some tea? She won't be long left half an hour ago in the car."

"Certainly, that would be great."

Beckoning them past the staircase she pointed to a worn green armchair for Draco to sit down on in their reading room, with glossy wooden floors and shelves full of books.

"Your mum _drives? _That's so cool. Dad would never _think _of setting foot behind a – "

"Yes, thank you Scorpius. I have no need to, I can apparate. Much quicker."

"Mum says it relaxes her. Gives her 'time to think'. Also, apparition when you`re sick is a bad idea. Although I agree with you, Draco, she tried to teach me with my dad and it was _so stressful!"_

"I just thought it would be cool," the boy muttered.

Another glare was shot at his father by Scorpius, discreetly hidden from Rose's view, as he towered behind her line of view.

"Oh it is! I'll go get the kettle on, is earl grey fine?"

"Perfect," the two men both said in unison, startling each other before smirking in the exact same way.

"Wonderful, well I'll just be a moment."

Sauntering away, the boy watched her go before racing to Draco to give him an earful.

"_What are you doing?"_

"What are you talking about?"  
Both hands were placed on the arms, so his face was directly in his fathers, rage induced in his grassy eyes.

"_You're making me look bad! Talking to her about Amsterdam…about languages, and, and,"_

"Oh my lord, Scorpius, calm down," Draco instructed, putting his palm an inch form is nose. "She was asking _me_ questions to obviously ease any qualms I may have about her, trying to make a good impression; she's just as anxious as you."

"_You were flirting with her!"_

"Scorpius."

It was very difficult, _very _difficult_, _not to laugh.

"Okay maybe I'm overreacting but she was looking at you like she wanted to _bang, _so please don't ruin my chances by sticking round more than necessary."

"_Please, _Scorpius. She was not. And trust me, the sooner I can leave the better. Now go help her for Merlin's sake, don't you want to impress her?"

"Right, you're right. SORRY."

Draco could've sworn there was a trail of dust behind him as he ran into the kitchen.

{}

Hugo was asleep in the front seat, with vomit on his jumper that trailed to her own dress as they were stuck in the heavy traffic that was _just _five minutes away from home. Hermione couldn't stop her eye from twitching, the smell probably permeating the expensive leather seats forever, and a man she hadn't spoken to in almost 15 years sitting in her next destination.

"_Maybe he won't be there yet…Maybe he already came, and he'll have made some excuse to leave," _she spoke to herself. "_Yeah, I mean, he certainly doesn't want to have to see me either, right?"_

Finally the red light was green and she could speed up to 30 only to have to go back to 10 as she turned onto her street.

Dread pooled in her stomach as she pulled into the driveway, looking at herself in the rear-view mirror, then at the putrid stain just below her chest.

Cursing herself for forgetting her wand, at least she could've used _tergeo _for a bit of cleanliness, she nudged Hugo awake; he was much too big now for her to carry. He groaned, whining about his stomach.  
"I know, darling, we just have to get you inside and cleaned up ok?"

"_Okay mum…..er, sorry about the car."  
_Clutching his sketchbook, he jumped out of his seat, walking as fast as his weak will could. Hermione shook her head, slamming the door shut, sauntering to her house, counting backwards from 10.

From the sliver of a view from the foyer, Rose was already cooing over her brother as he greeted her in the kitchen, asking him about how he was feeling, fussing over his ruined sweater.  
"_Aww, _Hugo, are you okay? Here, hold on," she grabbed her wand from the counter and pointed it at him, "_Tergeo," _she incanted.

"_I'm fine, Rosie, I'm fine_," he mumbled. As Hermione took off her sandals, she noticed he suddenly perked up his inflection three notches. "Hi Scorpius! Do you wanna see my drawing? It's a Hungarian Horntail! The other kids are all muggles so they were impressed by how 'realistic' is looked, isn't that funny?"

Making her way down the front hall, she turned into the kitchen to find a near identical replica of 16 year old Draco Malfoy, only slightly more dishevelled with kinder, greener, eyes.  
Hugo pulled open his book, revealing his art adventure of the day, a perfect illustration of a dragon in colored pencils.

"Wow, man, that's so good! If only you could use magical ink and then it'd be roaring right off the page."

"Thanks!" Hugo beamed, slightly green.

"You're welcome," the boy replied, beaming right back.

It was like a bizarro déjà vu that Hermione was thrust in where a Malfoy was actually genuine and nice; she hadn't thought it possible.

Clearing her throat, she remembered her manners: "Hi Rose….Scorpius. Nice to meet you."

Holding out her hand, the boys expression took a turn for the panicky, shuffling over to shake it immediately.  
"Nice to meet you too Mrs. Weasley! Thank you so much for having me over, uh, my dad is in your study, I - we were making tea and stuff but then you came inside and we hadn't brought it in yet, should I go get him? I mean he probably heard you come in but he's a bit shy and awkward so, _oof."  
_Rose had elbowed him in the ribs with her elbow, while Hugo was chuckling behind his hand.

Endearing.  
Draco Malfoy's son was a babbling, endearing, nervous wreck._  
_

She was nearly lost for words, but the smell of the vomit brought her back to the present.  
"No, no, it's fine. Bring in the tea….I just need to change. Hugo, you need to get to bed."

"_Aw_," he whined, "Ok. Scorpius do you wanna play _Rocket Invaders _later? I just got it! It's wicked!"

"Hugo he's here to see _me?" _Rose said, crossing her arms. "not play some dumb video game."

Suddenly Hugo heaved gently, his belly gurgling.  
"Okay…yeah, maybe another time."

Scorpius snickered. "I will play with you one day, you're just going to have to show me how."

"Okay!"  
Not able to take another minute of this strange dream, Hermione pushed Hugo by the shoulders to the back of their home, kissing him on the forehead before he closed his door to get to sleep.

Rushing to the master, she then was shucking off her clothes as alarm hit her. The overwhelming emotion she had running through her body was _self-consciousness_.

"_It's normal, you haven't seen him in years, he hasn't seen you. And last time he commented on your appearance it was to insult you_."  
She also was recently separated with the person he seemed to hate almost as much as Harry, with two children, both who resembled their father immensely. Who enjoyed the non-magical aspects of life equally to their counterparts.

Hanging the dress up, enchanting the stains away after relinquishing her treasured vine, she grabbed a red tunic and threw it overtop her tights. Looking in her vanity, all she could focus on was how she'd fallen behind in her cardio, and _maybe _this outfit was a bit too revealing about the legs. Examining her face, she wiped the stray mascara that he bled under her lashes off her skin, smoothing down her hair with a small spritz of hair potion so it curled instead of frizzed.  
"_Good enough."_

Sighing, she forced herself away from her reflection to tiptoe down the hall, peeking into the room anyone could see her, Hermione flung back around and put her spine against the wall._  
_

Draco Malfoy was in _her_ study. Nearly two decades had passed without his involvement in her life, why must he be there now?

Soft pale hair parted on the side, there was nary a trace of the gel he once abused. Besides a few lines under his eyes, on his forehead, he looked exactly the same as he had in his youth, minus the pompous sneer. One leg crossed over the other, immaculately dressed and poised as is pureblood custom, he had been smiling, _smiling not smirking, _as he chatted to her daughter.

And she couldn't help but notice that he was no longer skinny, or gaunt; not in the very least.  
"_UGH."_

That was perhaps a bit loud.  
"Mum? You okay?" Rose called from inside.

"_Fine dear." _

Gripping the wand in her pocket, she thrust herself into the deep end, noticing her visitor's gaze burning into her like the very worst curse immediately. As if he were calculating every facet of herself in a moment's glance.

"Hello."

Expression like he'd seen a banshee ravage his mother, the lump in his throat was swallowed before he greeted her.  
"Hi Gr – uh, Hermione."

His voice was scratchy and stiff. Scrunching his features for a second, though one second she noticed, his composure regained in a snap.

_Granger.  
_That's what he meant to say, is that how she still was viewed in his head? Was she still the mudblood girl he refused to speak to from childhood?

"Doing well?" she inquired to start this conversation.

"Fine. And yourself?"

"Fine."

The riveting conversation was met with apprehensive stares from the teenagers in the room, tensely perched on the sofa with perfect posture.

"Rose…why don't you take Scorpius to the field now? The quaffle is in the backyard. You can play for a few hours, and I'll come to get you when it's supper if you aren't back? How does that sound?"

"_Brilliant,_ come on let's go," she was already half off the couch, heaving her date by the arm. "See you later, Draco!"

Waving to him, Hermione muttered "_Draco_?" incredulously as Scorpius also waved his goodbyes to his father.

Shuffling filled the recessed of the house, clanging of brooms and rumbling footsteps to hastily get outside and out of the stressed atmosphere. And suddenly, all was quiet. Rubbing her arm with edgy ticking fingers, still standing, it was broken as Draco lowered his cup very slowly while keeping eye contact, clinking onto the plate.

She cleared her throat. "I'm sure you're wondering why I asked to speak to you…I – "

"I'm sorry."

"I don't want you to think I'm attempting to intimi- excuse me, _what?"_

If she hadn't witnessed his lips forming the words, the sound undoubtedly his tone, she couldn't have believed it. And most noticeable of all was that it was spoken sincere, quiet. She was frozen.

"I said _I'm sorry_," he repeated, adjusting in his seat, face pained. "I figured I should get apologies out of the way first. It's almost twenty years too late, but I really am sorry I treated you so poorly back then."

"Um, alright."  
Shifting her weight to one side, she was clutching one of her wrists so tightly it would leave a red mark, looking anywhere but at him.

"I know you probably are concerned that Scorpius will share my genetic disposition to be a complete arse to everyone around him, but he doesn't."

"I am, yes but – " she paused.

"Look, I figured you probably never wanted to see me again for the rest of your life, and I hadn't planned on it either except for the fact that Scorpius' mother wanted him to go to Hogwarts. So I appreciate that you've allowed him to spend time with your daughter when her father won't let he nor I near her when she's with him."

He knew.  
For some reason it cut her deeper knowing he was trying for tact not to mention her 'ex', _Weasley, _when he could have without it being entirely offensive. Without asking any questions. Instead Ron was reduced to the status of being 'Rose's father'.

"It's…no problem, really. I can tell she really likes Scorpius, and it seems as if he is the same."

"Very much so."  
A hint of a smirk splayed across his mouth.

Sometimes there were moments where Hermione was taken from reality to an odd place where she was observing herself living life like she were a different person. Draco Malfoy was a _father, _one who was amused by his sons antics. One who maybe, _hopefully, _had instilled in is son with thanks to Astoria that everyone was equal, that everyone deserved respect.

"I'm glad to hear it. If all goes smoothly today, my only concern would be her travelling to Amsterdam."

Realizing she was being slightly rude standing like an interrogator, she sat down across from him.

"Scorpius knows his way around the places that are close to our house. I can take them anywhere else if you really are that worried," he was assuring her, confident all of a sudden. "He also knows the consequences of making stupid decisions, if Rose is anything like you she does too."

_Was that a compliment?  
_"Okay."

"I think it would be good for Scorpius to give him some responsibility, let him earn more trust. Not that I have a problem with him currently, but they're 16, I think they can make their own decisions with good guidance."

"I agree."

"Excellent, well…shall we keep in touch then or…?"

"Um, alright, so you have a telephone number I can reach you at?"

Pink slowly ebbed from his ears to his cheeks but his form remained unchanged.  
"Actually no, but Scorpius has been nagging me for that to change. So if he can give you his you can contact me through him for now if that's not too troublesome. Or owl post of course."

"Sure…"

"Right, well perhaps I should be going now. I'll pick him up at 8, shall I?" he asked, standing up.

"Yes. Thanks…um, goodbye."

"Bye."  
Turning the corner he wept the sweat beginning to glisten from his brow, sighing in relief from the strain of how uncomfortable the whole exchange had been. Though it wasn't nearly as horrible as he expected, he couldn't help being distracted by how different Hermione had looked from how he remembered her, noticing sharp or soft features that he never noticed when he was 15 and horny.

Back on the sofa Hermione watched from the window as the she heard the muffled crack of apparition, watching him disappear from her porch.  
It had went well, perhaps _too _well.

Dinner with Scorpius would be interesting, her mind riddled with questions she could subtly aim at him to know more about this Slytherin recluse that had somehow found his way back in her life by chance.


	5. Disclosure

_Chapter 5: Disclosure_

The quaffle flew across the pitch at breakneck speed, soaring straight past Scorpius, barely scraping the top of his ear, hair ruffling from contact, and into the goal.

A whoop of victory followed it.

"YES! That's 60 – zip, big man, I am _smoking _you," Rose was giggling, pumping her arm into the air.

Scorpius laughed too, though he was sweating, his internal thoughts consisting of: _Fuck, maybe dad was right, _out of breath stagnant while she was flying around in victorious circles.

They had been at it for an hour, but only one of them was really in the mood to keep going.

"Looks like you want to take a break, or are you fine getting your arse kicked?" she teased, gliding next to him, eyes the shade of gunmetal shining wickedly.

Swallowing a lump in his throat, he averted his gaze from where it rested, looking into the thick trees instead, around their hiding place.  
They were _alone_, in a field protected by magic so no muggles could get by. So _nobody_ could, unless they knew where to come. And the pounding insecurity plaguing him was that he may mess up this opportune moment. Choking on stupid words because he was too distracted by the very thing he was pining for.

So he swallowed again.

"I think _you_, Miss Weasley are using unfair play tactics, and should be deducted exactly 60 points," Scorpius replied, sticking out his tongue before flying low to the grass to pick up the ball.

"Oh _really, _for _what_?" she asked, inhaling a sharp breath as he thrust the quaffle up, aiming at her, catching it deftly with one arm when it was in her grasp.

"20 for poking fun at the opposite team," he listed, relishing the expression she adopted as he levelled with her once more at the posts, "another 20 for not wearing regulation uniform," he gestured to the tiny red shorts and golden sleeveless top which accentuated too much cleavage that she had revealed to him under the pretty lace dress.

"And the last twenty?"  
One of her brows raised, and she crossed her arms in a perfect example of her mother, red hair swaying in the light wind.

Bold as anything, remembering the courage he had somehow obtained in the Great Hall only a week ago, he inched ever so close to her body so they were facing each other. Skimming his hand over hers, knees grazing, he saw her haughty resolve dissolve into something else, something he was nervous to put a label on, as her chest heaved heavier.

"For disrupting the opponent's focus by being so drop dead gorgeous."  
And he smirked, knowing the approach was dumb, knowing a line like this shouldn't be his way of getting her attention. But it was obvious it had, as she shook her head and found a smile creeping its way onto her mouth.

Snorting, she smacked his shoulder.  
"That was incredibly _lame. _Why do boys always go for complimenting girls' looks?"

"Oh _come_ on, do you really want me to tell you how _smart_ you are?"  
Her cheeks were as bright as her hair.

"No…just."

"I've spent enough time under a tree with you studying, _Rose_." he grinned, her cheeks going from peach to scarlet. "We both know you're a goddamn prodigy, we also both know you're great at pretty much anything."

"I _don't_ know that. I'm not _conceited…_am I?"

"Of course not, you're reserved, I like that."

"_Reserved? _That makes me sound boring as all hell, Scorpius."  
Her jaw hanging open, he caught her tiny fist in his before she could physically protest. Patting it he held onto her fingers, resting it on his lap.

"No, no, I meant modest. You're kind, and sweet and all that, _that_ kind of reserved."

Rolling her eyes, she was still grinning.  
"_Thanks_."

"Oh come off that tone. I like complimenting _you _on your looks because of the way you react. All giggly and things. I don't think you realize how beautiful you are."  
Sincerity dripped from his lips.

"Do you mean that?"

"Yeah. I kind of like it to be honest, your unwarranted modesty. If you'd realized how great you are you'd probably be here playing Quidditch with someone better."

With her hand in his, she took a deep breath and leaned in. No chance for him to chuckle at his self-deprecating comment, she was stealing a quick kiss from him as she had dreamt about the night previous.

Tearing away from him, she said: "Perhaps. But you'll do just fine."

Before it was fully realized they'd floated to the ground, silly smiles abound. Silence broken by Scorpius, casting his broom aside, he snatched hers from her and tossed it on top of his.

"_Really?_ Just 'fine'."

"Yes, fine. Now, _shut up," _she breathed.

Her lips were against his again before he could retort.  
His hands were running through her hair, winding down her back her back, tracing the nape of her neck before she could even process that this was so much better than when they sat in a crowded room.

Her first real crush, her first real kiss, and it had actually worked out.

They were lowering themselves onto the grass, sunlight burning their faces, but they were too busy to care. Side by side, he was pulling her close, to taste her and feel her skin on his skin. And Rose ran fingers through the wisps of blonde , wrapping her arm under his to grab at his jersey.

"_Rose_,"  
His voice was low, as he trailed a hand from her forehead to her chin, stalling what he so desired. For this was important.  
"Rose will you go out with me?"

Tongue slipping in between his teeth, she gave him the response he wanted, and they lost themselves in each and time as the minutes ticked away.

{}

"So Mrs. Weasley, I was reading the new development in centaur regulations in the _Daily Prophet _the other day_. _I just wanted to say I agree with _your _stance, it's mad that the council wanting to remove them from the Hogwarts grounds have even managed to pass any preliminary legal headings. They don't do nothing to us when we're there, I don't get it."

Rose was watching Scorpius, with his fork swinging around like a gavel, speaking to her mother across the table about her _work, _of all things, and wondering how exactly she landed herself into a real life version of a sitcom, having her first boyfriend try so hard to impress. Said mother was listening, adamantly _not_ noticing the way her daughter was gazing at this boy. Which was to be totally lost in his words and eyes.

They'd come into the house, seemingly too content to have such red faces purely from playing Quidditch. And when asked about how it was they'd both chimed "Excellent."

She'd never seen her daughter glow quite like this before, and this intruder in her home, who she'd expected much worse from, was wearing muggle clothing as if it were nothing, participating.

_Scorpius.  
_She'd been quoted several times throughout the week previous, in different journalists pieces. This switched on teenager appeared genuine and actually interested.  
"Are you interested in creature rights?"

"I try to be in the know, I wouldn't say I'm an expert or anything," he admitted. "This is really amazing by the way, this steak."

It was nearly gone off his plate, and they'd been seated for ten minutes. If it was a little uncouth, she was much too pleased.

"Yeah, it's really good, mum," Rosie iterated, still focused on the Slytherin at their table.

"Thank you. So you just like to read the paper then, Scorpius?"

"Yeah…Well, sort of. To be honest, I only have been because I got no books at my dads. I really like historical novels. But, I swear he goes through the entire thing, front to back. _Every day_."

"Oh?"  
Hermione's tone was filled with surprise, as reserved as she could probably make it.

"Yeah, says the UK newspapers are a lot better than European ones. He was reading the one, you know, with your debate against Malachy McKenna. Said it was interesting, told me to read it. Normally I just look at the headline and decide if I want to peruse or not."

Draco Malfoy had said her debate was 'interesting.'  
Was it because he agreed with her stance?  
Because he had thought she sounded a complete fool?

"Anyways, it's just maddening what they're doing."

"They were getting along so well with wizards, weren't they? We've come so far and now this garbage," Rose huffed, slamming her cup down.

Clearing her throat, Hermione snapped back in, a simper growing at her daughter's fury.  
"I know, Rose, it's all still a bit complicated. The whole debate goes back centuries, wars and rivalries between wizards and centaurs are some of the worst. I'm sure you've read about it in school, but even when I was going to Hogwarts there was a large stigma about them. The centaurs have rarely been very cooperative with the Ministry because of the Ministry's past treatment of them, and it makes them come off as dangerous and uncooperative. They're merely independent. Some parents don't want their child in an environment where they might be present."

"Well that's just _rude," _ Scorpius interjected, chugging back his delicious sugary soda, something his father never bought, or probably ever heard of.

Hermione chuckled, raising an eyebrow as she darted a look to Rose, who shrugged her shoulders, a slight pink spreading on her face.

"I've never even _seen _a centaur," Hugo chimed in, shoving aside the broccoli on his plate stealthily with a knife. "Have you seen a centaur, Scorpius?"

After a three hour nap he had seemingly made a full recovery.

"Nah, I hear they're pretty far inside the Forbidden Forest. And I never been in. Figured I may as well count my blessings to stay out of trouble, and besides, the sounds I've heard from there give me _the_ _creeps._"

"_Me too."  
_Rose shuddered, grinning to match Scorpius when she realized he was smirking at her.

"That's a good way to look at it," Hermione told him, wherein he nodded.

"Yep. I plan on graduating with zero marks on the ol' academic record."  
The signature smirk, much too striking to his father, to his _grandfather_ was glaring her straight in the face. Something she hadn't seen in seventeen years, something that struck her much too reminiscent in an awful sort of way.

"Rose said you were in the top percentile in your year, that's very impressive."

"Thank you. I do try, I'm just behind this one," he exaggerated a point to his left, Rose, "and my friend Gavin. Merlin, he beats me in everything."

"God, _Gavin Sire. _If it weren't for him, I'd be top of the class," Rose mused, shaking her curls everywhere. "At least he keeps us competitive. I know he makes _me_ study harder."

"Nah, not me. Gav's not like that. Just a bloody genius. Doesn't have to try, he just gets it."

"_Damn_ him."  
A fist hit the oak, shaking their glasses.

"_Rose."_

"Sorry."

Scorpius was giggling, Hermione's composure slipped before she fixed it back to serious.  
"So with all these outstanding's you want to get, what's the plan for after Hogwarts? I'm sure Rose has told you she wants to be – "

"A healer, yeah! That would be pretty wicked."

"Ugh that sounds so _boring," _Hugo muttered, grabbing more bread from the basket.

"Well, I'm still not sure. It would be nice though, rewarding," Rose shrugged once more.

"Yeah, it would be. My mum is trying to get me towards politics, maybe try to be Minister of Magic, but I don't think I'd be good at _that," _Scorpius chuckled, shaking his head at the tablecloth.

"And why not?" Hermione inquired, refilling her cup with merlot.

"It's not really my thing, you know? Wouldn't be motivated. I just feel like that's what everyone wants me to do, my stepdad says I'd be good at it…I don't know. "

"Lots of pressure then?" Hermione asked, sympathy etched in her inflection.

"A lot yeah. Mum's past and current husband are lords, people from political families, so I think she sort of sees good in that."  
The statement left the lonely woman wondering if that's how her children would end up referring to her, a girl with countless divorces, her lost romances 'past husbands'.

"And your father…?"

"He doesn't exactly have any time to tell me to study," Scorpius revealed, as if it were comical.

"What do you mean?" Rose questioned, utensils lined on her plate, ready for he and her to get back to being alone.

"This is the first time I've stayed with him for more than a week since I was bloody five."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I'm glad we're spending more time together, he's never been one to tell me how to live my life, think he wants to be the opposite of mum to be fair_. _Just tells me to go for what I want. He and mum's second husband are from the wealthy pureblood bloodline, so I think they don't really know how the real world works sometimes. I think Mum wants me to aim higher I guess?"

"Mother's generally do."  
Hermione was still stuck on his confessions. Astoria Greengrass had had four husbands. Scorpius barely saw his real father.

Obviously she'd still done a fantastic job, the proof was in the pudding that was Scorpius Malfoy.  
And yet _Draco_ Malfoy was _actually_ rebelling against his own parentage, letting his child take control of his life. Maybe he had changed.

"You'll be good at anything you do, Scorpius."  
Rose flashed her pearly whites at him, his return even bigger, even happier.

"You think so?"

"If you put your mind to it," Hermione insisted, folding her arms, the ideas of love not being so scared still swimming in her thoughts. "What _do _you want to do?_, _to get back to the initial question."

"Be an Auror. Make the world a better place, and it's anything but dull. And if they don't let me in, then I'll do Muggle tech support or something, haha."

"An Auror is a fine thing to aim for. And why would you not be allowed in? I have connections you know, you could definitely ask Harry, Rose's uncle about it," Hermione winked, Roses mouth twisting into a grimace, silently communicating that she was 'too old for that'.

"_Really?_ Oh that would be helpful. See, my dad is blacklisted from any Ministry job, might not be able to get there being a Malfoy," Scorpius said, so matter-of-factly that everyone else at the table paused to stare at him cutting up his vegetables. "If I had some kind of recommendation it might help me a lot"

"_Blacklisted?"  
_Perplexed, his new girlfriend had uttered the word tentatively.

"Don't know the full story, but many eons ago when he was what, like 21? He applied at the Ministry and St. Mungo's and all those places for anything. He's really good at potion-making, but the hospital wouldn't even accept an interview. And the Ministry, they wouldn't have him, said he wasn't allowed in when he used to be a Death Eater. Not even to be maintenance. Pretty rubbish if you ask me," he finished, with furrowed brows, not staring at anyone.

"That's horrible…."  
This was new information. The first thing that Hermione wondered was if that was even legal.

"But I thought Draco was pardoned by the Ministry? Why wouldn't they…?" Rose trailed.

"No idea, maybe that was the trade. No Azkaban, but no job. It's stupid really, he didn't even want to be a part of it all but I suppose they just associate him with my granddad, who did a lot worse. It's not like he needs a career anyways, but sometimes I worry about his sanity, you know? Poor old Dad."

"So what does he do then?"  
Rose was asking all the questions Hermione wanted answers to; she was glad she wasn't the one who had to say it aloud.

"Writes. A _lot. _Has a study completely filled with journals. Personally, I don't get the draw, but he is trying to get published so, there's that."

"Well that's good…at least he keeps busy." Perking up suddenly, Rose piped up, "Hey Mum, can we be excused? I told Scorpius I'd show him Doctor Who before he left."

Rose's curiosity today was shallow, only going deep because she cared about the sanity of others, and more for Scorpius than she did of his father, Hermione guessed. She also was distracted. But after twenty years of no contact, of little to no inklings about the boy she had hated so much, who had made his mark upon her social group a curse, for the first time his welfare was at the forefront of her concern.

Eighteen years with only private books, a great child he never saw, and a checkered past to show for his life.  
Surely he didn't deserve all that?

She was still pondering over this moral dilemma, the one that told her she should keep her relationship cordial instead of trying to obtain more information, when the doorbell rang.

Opening the door, revealing him in the dimming light, she saw his chest heaving in sharp breath intake, running hand through his blonde hair.

"Hi," is how she greeted him.

"Hi."  
Looking at him, something she hadn't _really _done earlier, she now noticed the worry. The age on his face, across his forehead, between his eyes, the laughter lines more absent.

"How was he?"  
He asked this in earnest, vulnerable almost, susceptible to her judgment as a, perhaps more worthy, parent.

Washing up, she'd noticed the two lovers on the sofa, ever so near. Their palms melded together, their attention not on the television, his thumb brushing her closed fist while Rose smiled and continued to smile.

"Brilliant."

Brows raising, the cautious sorrow lifted, and he glanced to the ground, closed his lids with a hint of a smirk on him, before raising his vision back to her.  
"I'm glad," he exhaled. "He's one of the good ones."

"Very polite, yes. Seems to have a good head on his shoulders."

Pausing, Draco seemed almost unsure of what t say next, wordlessly fixed on her face.  
"Thanks for having him."

"It was no problem. I'm so pleased Rose has decided to try and date somebody _nice_."

There was no time to react as Draco's son appeared behind her in the hall, booming voice always jovial.  
"You _always _ must be _so_ punctual, dad, mustn't you?"

"I _must_," he replied, still staring at Hermione and not Scorpius.

So she moved, feeling her stomach somersault, wrapping an arm round her daughter's shoulder as she walked towards the outside, to let Scorpius by with his equipment. Now the two pairs stood side by side, facing one another.  
"Well thanks for having me, Mrs. Weasley, dinner was so good, I might have to come back every night."

Trying and failing to avoid her gaze, she fought to keep the titter at the back of her throat as Draco shook his head with rolling eyes.  
"You're welcome."

"Thanks for coming," Rose added, leaning in to hug him, too short not to be suspicious, "It was nice to meet you Draco."

"And you," the grown man replied, a bit sheepish at Hermione's judging look.

"Next time come to my place?" Scorpius asked, glancing at the two in charge, hopelessly pleading.

"Certainly," was Draco's answer.

"I'll have to see," was Hermione's. "I have your number, maybe we can arrange for something later this week?"

Crestfallen as Rose was, her demeanour brightened when Scorpius chimed in happy spirits.  
"Great! I suppose I'll see you later then?"

"Bye Scorpius."  
She was teetering from side to side, shy in front of an audience.

"Bye Rose."  
He waved, clearing his throat to also bis farewell to Hermione.

"Goodbye Scorpius. Draco."

"Goodnight."  
Clutching his son's hand, they disappeared into the dusk light.

Sighing contentedly, Rose hugged her mother.  
"Good day?"

"Oh yeah. Excellent."

"Will I get _any _details?" Hermione requested, closing the door and returning into the kitchen for the nightly round of tea.

"Only that he asked me to be his _girlfriend. _Ah!" Rose shrieked, spinning in a pirouette before performing a silly dance around the cabinets.

Seeing her darling dear so ecstatic, Hermione made no further comments, being motherly would ruin this moment.

"And oh my god, mum. _His dad is _so_ fit," _she hushed her voice, leaning on the counter so her hair was swarming half of it as Hermione put on the kettle.

"_W-what?"  
_Surely that sentiment hadn't escaped her mouth.

"He is! Don't be weird about it. Come on, don't pretend like you didn't notice. If this thing goes anywhere, at least I know his genes will hold up, woo hoo!"

Hermione couldn't help but laugh. Funny that Rose would calculate the future the first day of their relationship, so much like her she was.

"You, sweetheart, are truly strange. Grab the milk?"

"Oh yes, it would be my pleasure. You have to give me love advice now I'm such a worldly woman."  
She watched Rosie yank open the fridge, her head in the clouds and filled with joy. Though still dwelling on her Draco dilemma, it was another one of those evenings she couldn't stop the smiles.

{}

"I have a girlfriend, Dad. A _girlfriend."_

Congratulations," Draco was saying, as Scorpius was glued to his phone texting everyone he knew about this social development, gesturing wildly all the same.

"We made out! In the grass, dad, _the grass. _It was awesome."

"Okay, thank you, please talk about the gritty details to someone else," Draco protested, sauntering away from their living room to his study to sit.

"Come on, dad, you're being dumb. Be happy for me!"  
He was yelling, joining his dad in the room.

"I am, Scorpius, but don't tell me about your intimate moments, please. It's weird to me that you're old enough to be kissing at all."

"Awwww, so sentimental," Scorpius grabbed Draco's head with his elbow and gave him a giant noogie. "I will be fine dear old father of mine. Also, I'm glad you were so civil with Mrs. Weasley, she seems nice, eh?"

"Yeah. She does."  
Scorpius didn't notice the way his voice had changed, like he was spacing out to think. Every time Hermione had looked at him, he felt her shield and defences go up, something she had never done to him in school, something he didn't believe the Brightest Witch ever did at all. It was what he had sat here thinking about all day, he couldn't concentrate on anything, not writing or eating or reading.

And he couldn't figure out if this was her going to try to accept him slowly, accept his little family slowly, or if she was only making this a trial period, not intent on letting either of them in at all.  
He so desired to find out the answer.


	6. Past

_Chapter 6: Past_

"_Dad?"_

Draco spun around in his chair, peering through horn-rimmed glasses to find Scorpius in the doorway, hand outstretched grasping his phone. Face sheepish, with a hopeful grin.

In his other fist was an open book, halfway through he was: "Sorry to bother, but it's for you."  
Stepping closer to his father's frame, Draco raised a solitary brow, taking the device slowly from his son and saying;

"For me?..._Hello?"_

The voice on the other end was as tentative as he felt.  
"_Hi. It's Hermione."_

"Oh," and his insides flipped. And he wasn't sure why. "Hi Hermione, how are you?"

"_Oh, um,_ _fine." _her tone was surprised. _"Really busy with work….Anyways, I'm calling because I've been pestered to let Rose come on over for a visit. It's only been three days but she's a bit adamant.."_

"Oh?"  
This was the only coherent word that seemed to be able to escape his mouth.

"_Yes. I don't know what your schedule's like, but the kids are arranged to be going back and forth between myself and Ron every week. And I've managed to pull out some information from Hugo that he, Ron, likely won't be too happy letting her see you, well, letting her over to your house rather."_

"Oh."

"_Yes, I realize that's not exactly a nice thing to hear… It's been a bit of a difficult time for them, and I think they need to be able to see each parent equally."_

Tapping a finger on his desk, she was acting like a civil adult, keeping him in the know about his son's girlfriend's current situation, her _children's_, the intimate details of her personal life. All while being aloof. Which in turn caused a sort of pained burn to flutter inside his head; when she was polite, he was uncomfortable.

"That is definitely the most sensible thing to do."

He almost added, "I wish Scorpius could have that arrangement", but stopped himself in time.  
"I don't really have much on my plate. Whenever you'd like to bring her over, I would be happy to have her."

Static rang through Draco's ear, what felt like countless minutes passed before he heard a draw of breath.  
_"That's very kind," _and she was grateful, he could hear it. Still, the burn was persistent._ "Would tomorrow be alright? I planned to have someone watch Hugo during the day but they're only available Tuesday."_

"Tomorrow is fine."

"_I may need to drop her off early, around 8, that would already be cutting it close to make it to the office..."_ She was becoming panicky.

"Don't worry, generally I'm up at five."

"_Five_?"

It almost seemed to him as if she was questioning why jobless Draco Malfoy would have anything to do so early, because purebloods never had to do _anything_, did they?.

"_Yes_, I like to go for runs in the morning."  
For some reason he'd turned off the friendly; he was monotone, harsh.

"_Oh, I didn't mean to- I was just –"  
_Flustered, he felt this unreasonable anger diminish as oddly as it came hearing her cordial tone disappear. It was times like this, where a simple conversation about organizing a get together become tense, that Draco realized just how out of touch with his emotions, with _people _he was.

"I'll make sure Scorpius is up and ready."

"_Okay."  
_And the most horrible silence followed.

Swallowing a lump in his throat, he cleared it.:  
"Is there any particular place Rose wanted to go? I doubt they want me following them all day but I can at least show them around."

"_Um, you know I didn't ask, hold on – Rose."  
_Muffled voices filled the other end, then dead air until a different person was on the line.

"_Hello Draco! MUM – sorry, _Mister_ Malfoy." _  
Rose's sweeter, higher tone was in his ear, correcting his name as she received an inaudible scold.

"Hello Rose. For tomorrow, did you have any places on the top of your list to visit?"

"_Oh my god, everything!" _She seemed so content, so happy that it actually warmed his heart. "_I think_ _I really would like to go to the Van Gogh Museum most, and maybe the Anne Frank House? If we have time. I know those are Muggle touristy things, but – "_

The mention of _Anne Frank _chilled him to the bone. Still his inflection stayed neutral.  
"That's fine. We can go wherever you'd like, you don't live here."

"_I'm so excited, thank you so much!" _  
Draco pictured her jumping up and down, as a little squeal came out of her mouth.

"It's my pleasure."

"_Ah! Well I guess I'll let you go! See you tomorrow! Bye."_

And then she clicked off.

Holding out this little mobile in front of his face, Draco shook his head before standing up to have a chat with Scorpius.

Turning the corner he found him sprawled on the couch, flicking up eager eyes from his book when he noticed his presence: "_Verdict?"_

"Rose will be visiting tomorrow at 8 am," Draco revealed, tossing his phone so it bounced onto the cushions. "So you best get up early enough."

"_Careful – and _YES!" Jumping up, pocketing the mobile, he walked over with outstretched arms to engulf Draco in a hug. "Thanks Dad, you're the best dad anyone could ask for. Did you know that? You know if there were a 'Best Dad Ever' contest, you would surely win it and – "

"Merlin, Scorpius, shut the hell up. You're welcome"  
Pushing his son away, yanking open the fridge for leftovers, Scorpius noticed his father smirk in the light of it. He was smiling before speaking again.

"_Rude. _So where we gonna go then? Anne Frank house?"

"No," Draco shrugged, throwing half a roast and potatoes on the table. "She wants to go there, but top priority goes to the Van Gogh museum."

"_What? _Fuck, I've been reading this stupid diary all day to try and get all beefed up for the Anne Frank House! Was going to impress her hardcore."

Dramatically swinging out of one of the chairs, Scorpius slumped in it, slamming the acclaimed muggle novel in front of him.

"Scorpius, you can go there another time. Is a bit of reading really so bad? What were you reading- " Draco inquired, and then paused as he was inspecting the back of his book.

"Dad, do you even _know _who Anne Frank is?"

"I do, Scorpius."  
Scorpius hadn't noticed how very grave his father had become.

"It's so brutal, I looked up what happened in those concentration camps. That thing is so depressing to read knowing how it ends. Her house would be even worse to visit, I'd probably cry, I swear. But Rose loves Muggle history, she loves military history most, I don't know why…but I wanted to like, try and share an interest?"

"You really want to go there? Just for a girl?"

"Well…_I _know it sounds stupid, but. It's just, that's what she always talked about when I told her where you were living…Is that dumb?"  
All of the mirth was away from Draco, furrowing his features at his son, calculating him as if he were something he could solve or understand. His son, so unsure of himself when he never was before about anything.

"Scorpius, I want to tell you something that nobody knows, just your mother."  
It was only then that suddenly everything felt tense, as Draco sat across from Scorpius, staring at him straight in the eyes.

"O_-okay…_"

"When I was pardoned by the ministry all those years ago, they sent a woman named Eva Galler to our house for 'meetings'," Draco chuckled, air quoting the word, though there was a frown on his face.

"_Meetings?"_

"Meetings. See, Eva was a holocaust survivor, and _also,_ a witch."

"_What?"_

Scorpius' fingertips grew cold.

"Yes. She was there to explain to me, to my parents as well, that what He Who Must Not Be Named was doing was no different than Adolf Hitler. All the propaganda against Mudbloods, the control he had over pureblood families, it was strikingly reminiscent of the anti-Semitism she had endured all her life. She explained racism, classicism, everything that's wrong with the world. She was there to explain why what we had thought all our lives was _bad."_

"But – but you _knew _didn't you? You knew it was bad. You didn't think like that."  
Closing his eyes, Draco ignored the pleading tone, the shakiness of Scorpius' voice.

"I knew it was bad to _kill _someone, Scorpius. Up until I was 16 I didn't care about everyone else's feelings. Scorpius, _I_ – " dry throat, wet lashes, he continued when he felt his hand being held. "_I_ _wanted to be a Death Eater. Just like my father."_

The hand went limp. But it didn't go away.

"All my life I had been under the impression that I was better because of something I can't control. That nobody can. That somehow the purity of my blood, the magic in my veins would be any better than someone else's. Muggles were filthy, mudbloods were freaks of nature, and _I, _as a Malfoy, was top tier. I thought I would be _so cool, _so worthy being a part of something so disgusting, and I wasn't because I was only chosen for granddad fucking up. I was a punishment."

"_Dad – "_

"Scorpius, I know all about concentration camps. I know all about Hitler from that woman. The parallels between Jews and mudbloods. How what I was thinking, even dormant, and casual, was terrible. Honestly, Scorpius. I know about muggles. You can't live in a city like this for years and not be somewhat involved. I know as much as I can without constant interaction. Of course I do; I have a bloody _stack_ of books in my study about them, half given to me, half I chose to read on my own. I just don't want to involve myself in the world, I don't deserve it. And I don't want to go to the house. I don't want a reminder that I was involved in a group of subhumans who caused people to live in total fear like Anne Frank. That I I was a part of something so ugly. I already have to every day," He powered on, lifting up his sleeve to show the grey skull and snake that seemed to glow in the dim light. "I can admit to you I am not strong enough for it."

"_Dad…"_

And before he knew it, Draco was sobbing, face as red as his tattoo had once been, all of the repressed memories flying through his head, still unable to be over it after seventeen years. And wondering if that made him human or made him weak.

Still then, in his mess, Scorpius had rushed over to his father, wrapped himself around his back while Draco's head hid in his palms.  
"_Dad, don't cry. Dad, I love you. I love you, you deserve to be happy, you deserve to be forgiven."_

If he was sobbing before, the acceptance only made him inconsolable.

{}

"Let's go mum, let's go, let's go!"  
Bouncing on her heels in pink oxford shoes, Rose was waiting quite impatiently at the front door.

"Just a minute Rose!"  
It had been a night of tossing and turning, the coffee had been flowing since six am.

Very reluctantly had a Teddy Lupin come to the house not ten minutes ago, ready for a long day of video games with Hugo.

"I really hope it wasn't too much trouble coming here for you," Hermione was telling him, shoving galleons and pounds in his hands for food and any other boy things they might require.

"_Nah, _I love hangin' out with this little guy_," _Teddy said, tossing the cash on the counter, grabbing the boy by his redhead and ruffling it to shouts of 'hey!'.

"I appreciate it. I just don't like leaving him alone, you know?"  
Rushing to grab her briefcase, drowning her third cup, she gave her son a trite hug and a peck on his rosy cheeks.

"_Merlin, _Mum, I'm _fourteen!" _Hugo declared, shaking his head as he made his way to set up the TV.

"I won't lie to you," Teddy confessed in a low tone as he made sure Hugo was out of earshot, "Ron was over at Bills last night, and I was there with Victoire. Told me not to go, he didn't want to let Rose see young Malfoy there," he chuckled. "I figure if Rose likes him, and if you're allowing it, it can't be all bad, right?"

Slumped shoulders, the guilt washed over Hermione, feeling that every single person close to her was judging her for letting her daughter see a boy she seemed to adore, _love _probably, as best as teenagers can do.

"_Right? Eh, _she'll be fine," Teddy nudged her, patting the small of her back. "It's not that big of a deal, the past is past, everyone will be fine once they're used to the idea. Don't worry and have some faith, hm?"

He winked at her and took her mug, throwing it in the sink.  
"Now _go!"_

"Thanks."  
And she opened her mouth wide to show teeth, but felt nothing but dread under the veil.  
She tried to forget that Teddy had no idea about the sordid history between the Weasleys and Malfoys, or that he was likely the kindest lad on the planet, a picture of his father and mother; an optimist. She pretended that he was completely accurate in assuming this relationship would be taken well over time. Someone needed to.

Grabbing her smiling Rose's hand, she bid one more goodbye to everyone before concentrating fully on the address she had been given.

Focusing in the new surroundings, Rose had drawn the sharpest of breaths; it wasn't alarm.

"_Wow."_

The day was picture perfect, slightly cloudy. Sun and the scenery reflected on the river that ran through the city. On the doorstep, a park lay across the street; they could see boats trailing leisurely in the water. Their home reached up so high, black brick with white trim, the biggest on their block.

"Wouldn't mind living _here_," Rose giggled, slapping her palms together, positively giddy.

"_No, no neither would I…"  
_What surprised Hermione most was the most public location of his home. It was not solitary like the family manor._  
_Ringing the buzzer, it took nary a moment for Draco to open up.

"Morning."  
He looked how she felt; sporting dark circles, an anxious expression. Still there was effort to look content, an effort she knew he wouldn't have given so many eons ago.

Somehow he had still been able to grasp modern Muggle fashion perfectly. Black blazer, dark jeans and a light blue button up shirt.

She found her gaze wandering to his forearms, crossed on his chest. The skin exposed as he'd rolled up his sleeves. Up to his eyes, silver in the light, they were alive and not cold.

"Good morning."  
It wasn't right.

"Morning!"  
Hermione was thankful that at least Rose had enough perk for the rest of them. Her small voice rang loud in the small space.

"I take it you're excited?"  
And he smirked. And Hermione insides squirmed.

"Yes! So excited! I _love _Van Gogh, he's my favourite painter! Such a fascinating man."

"Good. Scorpius has had a bit of a late start, _insisted _on doing hair and all that jazz. Should be down momentarily."

"Okay."

There was a weighty pause. A stiff silence.  
"Um, so how have you been? Since….um, Saturday?"

Rose wondered in this moment why her mother had a sudden onset of laryngitis.  
"Fine, I suppose," Draco replied. "And yourself?"

"Been reading some Chaucer. Started up the Canterbury Tales. Do you read any muggle literature?"

"I have before, yes," he replied, shifting, looking at Hermione throughout the exchange. "I did quite enjoy him, I prefer poetry over prose."

"Oh, not me, can't _stand_ it really. Trying to broaden my horizons though," Rose grinned, and Hermione noticed Draco's demeanour brighten, happier, when she did.  
It wasn't right.

Clearing her throat, she decided to speak.  
"Darling, I should probably go. Thanks again for having her, Draco. Now I don't know how much it is to go to the places you'll see, but – "

He'd put a hand up, waving her away.  
"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Oh…Are you sure?"  
Why was it so difficult to talk to this man? What had happened to her ability to shut him down with one sentence?

"Really, I don't – "

"HI."  
Cutting through the tension was Scorpius, with his tighter than should be permissible jeans again, white hair resembling a fashionable peacock. He pushed past his father to give Rose a tender hug, and a kiss on the lips.

"Hello to you too," Rose chuckled, red faced.

Draco's eyebrows were up to his hairline, mouth in a line, trying ever so hard not to smile at the look Hermione adopted.

"Uh, _bye mum._ Hope you have a great day at work._"  
_Rose leant in, squeezing her, giving the signal '_ok, you can go now!'._

"Hi Mrs. Weasley, nice day isn't it?"

Finally Hermione was amused enough to grin at something. Scorpius reminded her of James, the audacity combined still with self-awareness something she thoroughly enjoyed.  
"It's great, Scorpius. I guess I will see you later."

"Yep! I'll text you?" Rose pleaded, a set time seemingly a death sentence.

"Yes. Bye, have fun."  
And then she was gone.

"She was acting so _weird. God. _Sorry. She doesn't normally act so stuck up,' Rose apologized, rolling her eyes.

"Stuck up? Think she was just nervous, don't be so harsh on your mother," Draco told her, though he was pondering why she was so _quiet._ Being anxious was one thing, closed up was another. On the phone she'd been the opposite. If she had any real qualms about him caring for her child, she certainly would have voiced them.

"Yeah, probably," she shrugged, "But she shouldn't be, I feel like I'm in good hands."  
So confident she was, intertwining her fingers in Scorpius' fists.

The puppy dog had returned; Scorpius was dazed, lost in his new girlfriend. Draco knew he wasn't going to give a toss about the art, or anything except her eyes; he would follow her across town to a gutter.

"Shall we go then? The gallery is not open for another hour, but it's a bit of a walk, maybe stop coffee or something?"

"Brilliant!"  
Bounding off the porch, she was already dragging Scorpius along, chatting away as they held hands down the road.

Catching up to lovestruck teens, Draco went in front of them, allowing a gap of privacy for their conversation, so they could follow along behind him.  
He wasn't sure how today would go, but he was going to be damned if he would let his son have a bad day. That his impression, his family's, on Rose would be anything but good.

And Scorpius loud guffaw, the one stifled after only seconds, let him know that at least it was off to a promising start.


	7. Dishonesty

_Chapter 7: Dishonesty_

"_Oh look at this one Scorpius, isn't it wonderful?"_

He was thinking more that _she _was wonderful. That the paintings were nice, but there was a work of art more interesting standing beside him.  
"Oh yes, such nice, uh, brush strokes."

Draco had taken to sitting on the benches, observing their body language, their behaviours. Interfering with their personal time would be the last thing on the itinerary, though he was mildly concerned at what they might get up to unaccompanied.

While Rose was sighing over _Café at Night, _Scorpius plopped down next to his father, who then looked at him with an eyebrow raised.  
"Had enough of Van Gogh?"

"_No. _Well…yeah. But I was just wondering if you were gonna tag along all day? Don't you have poetry to write, running to do or something?" he asked, jovial yet earnest.

"Sick of me are you? It's only 1 son, and we spent an hour walking."

"I know, it's just…I don't mean to sound ungrateful but I want to be alone."

"You _do _sound ungrateful. And yes I figured that, I don't want Rose's mother to have an aneurysm knowing I let you two wander off in the city unattended."  
He was smirking as Scorpius' eyes rolled.

"_Daaaad, _it's such a buzzkill to have your parent trailing you all day," he whined, laying his head on Draco's shoulder. "Don't you trust me?"

"Oh no, _poor baby," _he chuckled, wrapping his arm around Scorpius' shoulder, rubbing his back lightly. "You know I do but I dunno if that's the best idea."

"_Dad, _I'm SERIOUS."  
His hand was shoved away.

"What would you be _doing_ exactly?"

Staring at the ground, he flexed out his fingers.  
"You_ know_, having lunch. And then…Probably going to the Anne Frank Museum," he admitted in a low voice. "She was saying how she really wanted to go, but I just said – "

"What_ did you say?" _  
The tone was sharp, Scorpius put his hands up.

"_Nothing. _I simply told her you didn't want to go. It's not like I don't know how to get back home. But no, it's okay dad, we can do it another time."  
He stood up to return to Rose, who was still engrossed in everything.

Desperate Scorpius was, desperate to have a _real_ date.  
He was playing to Draco's weakness, realizing it or not. At 16, Draco had never gotten an opportunity to just be with a girl, spend time and get to know _anyone_. He had operated being a close book, and still was stuck in that rut. Did he want that for his son?

"_Bored already?"  
_Rose pushed Scorpius lightly as he brushed against her; he stuck out his tongue in response.

"Nah, just trying to get us alone," he confessed. "If all goes according to plan, I can take you to the park."  
Sliding his fingers in hers, her eyes were shining brightly, as she snuck a look back at her boyfriend's father, who grinned with a small wave.

"_I feel kind of bad though,_" she whispered, leading him further away from parental ears. "_Lying. _I mean, maybe if he lets us go we should just go to the Anne Frank House like we talked about."

"Oh _come on_, I thought you were on board. It's going to be so depressing, I want to have _fun_ with you."

"I do _too_," she stressed, looking at the ground, "But it's just…just because your dad is sad about going shouldn't be our alibi to skive off."

"Look my dad was so upset telling me about how much he would be affected by the house that it's really turned me off it. Felt _so _bad, he was _sobbing._ Er, please don't tell him I told you that. I simply have told you it's not his cup of tea."

Her face contorted into a worried pout.  
"_Aw_, Rose. If you really want to go, we'll go. Even if he tags along, maybe I can convince him to just wait outside. Just, it would've been a good excuse for you to come back ASAP," he chuckled, kissing her on the cheek. "But we'll go."

Staring up at him, she had an internal struggle; be a rebel and impress, or let him please her whims instead.

"_So, _if I decide to leave you two, you won't be getting up to any trouble will you?"  
Draco had strolled up to them, hands in his pockets, with a smirk.

Startled, Scorpius spun round quickly, ready for action.  
"_Us? _Never."

"Do you even _know _how to get back, me old son?" was the inquiry, clapping him on the back.

"_Yes, _we can take the 62 bus _or _you know, you could give me some cash to take a cab?"

Teeth in a hefty smile, his father was shaking his head before reaching to grab his solitary unused Muggle credit card to hand it in Scorpius hands.  
"Use it wisely, you silly boy."

"Oh, I love _you_," and Draco was engulfed in a massive embrace. "Thanks dad."

"You're welcome," he laughed.

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy," Rose said sweetly, bright-eyed and happy.

"You know, you _can_ call me Draco. Just not around your mother," he winked. "Please be home for six. Have fun, see you later."  
And with a wave he was gone, wandering away to leave the two teenagers on their own adventure.

{}

"Scorpius, what if they _ID _us? What if your dad checks his credit statement?"  
Though unease had captured Rose's entire being, there was something exciting about breaking the rules.

They'd just finished a great meal of sausage and chips with mayo, and were presently walking along the city streets to a café. In his shorts front pocket, Scorpius had a mickey of whisky, and in his back, a bottle of soda.  
"Don't worry darling, this is Amsterdam. If I can go into a convenience store and buy liquor, they'll let us smoke a joint. And my dad is shit with technology. I'll offer to pay the bill for him, he'll be none the wiser," he assured her. "Besides, I took out cash instead of actually using the card, I'll tell him I took you somewhere fancy."

"Well okay…I'm still a bit nervous though. I feel bad abusing the trust we've been given. I've never been drunk before, and I've never tried _marijuana," _she whispered to him, grabbing his hand in hers as if she could hide in it.

"My dad won't find out. Your mom won't either, don't worry. We'll be fine, it's not even that much to drink. And I smoked with James and his friend Lysander last summer a bunch. It's nice."

"Okay."  
Smiling so bright, she couldn't but help be swayed by it all.

"I looked up the cafes where they're more lax about serving. Plus it's only three o'clock. We'll relax, get a bit high, get a bit drunk, and then go back for six like we were instructed to. I even have a tonic I bought in Diagon Alley in my room that will sober us up if we're still a bit out of it."

"_Okay."_  
It seemed he had put a lot of thought into this as they reached their destined building; a hole in the wall. A neon open sign was dimly lit at the window. A green and white license sticker was stuck underneath it. Across from the café was a large park, filled with giant trees and other kids their age enjoying vacation time.  
Pausing in front of it, Rose stopped her date.

"What is it?"

"I'm just –" she hesitated, "what if we get into trouble? I don't want to sound like a wet blanket, but what if we get caught? My mum will kill me."

Instead of becoming annoyed, Scorpius simply grinned.  
"Look around, Rose. See those guys over there?" he pointed to a small crowd of boys. "They're smoking. Those girls? Smoking. Nobody cares!"

Relenting, she let him begin pushing her inside. Suddenly she had become a bit giggly; nerves caused that.  
Strutting on up to a booth, casually he sat down and patted the seat beside him as he slid over. Copious amounts of laptop research had been spent the night previous on protocol for these situations. The biggest thing was to act cool.  
On their table was a laminated card with Dutch words and prices for the store's wares. He explained this to her.

"Someone will come over, don't worry," Scorpius told her, patting her shoulder as Rose had started to fidget.  
He was staring at his options as a perky blonde came over to them with an apron, smiles on.  
"Hallo, ik zie uw identificatie?"

Scorpius looked at Rose with wide eyes. It seemed a language barrier was the one thing he forgot to factor in. Luckily, Rose had practiced before coming and replied with, in Dutch, "I'm sorry, we don't speak the language very well."

"Oh, no problem," the girl replied with an accented chuckle. "May I see your IDs please?"

Frozen, Scorpius informed her that he didn't have his on him. And neither did Rose.  
Having surely heard this a hundred times before, the waitress didn't seem deterred.  
"Oh well, I am sorry but I can't serve you anything on _that_ menu if you can't prove you are over 18. Would you like a coffee instead?"

Apparently the web forums had been wrong, and slightly trounced, Scorpius decided he'd order one to share sheepishly, not wanting to be rude.

As they waited, Rose said, "Hey at least we tried," a hint of relief in her tone that she hoped he didn't catch on to.

Sipping on the over-creamed cuppa, he was stalking a now large group of seemingly university aged people that were sitting under a spruce through the glass. He finished the last drips rather quickly and threw change onto the table.  
"I haven't given up yet," he finally said with a twinkle in his expression. "Come on."

Before she knew what was happening, Scorpius had left the shop, tinkling the bell, and had run on over to the students, gesturing wildly with his arms as he spoke. Rose was tentative in approaching them, though they were laughing and speaking in kind tones to her boyfriend.

As she stepped on over, he grabbed her hand and said "Problem solved," with a wide smirk, thanking one of them, and leading her away for more privacy.

Twenty minutes later, they had sparked up their blunt, pre-rolled by pleasure of the seller, and were lying under a giant spruce, discussing various Quidditch teams.

"_Cough, _I don't think I'm doing this right," Rose confessed, choking on the smoke.  
They were almost done the whole thing, and the boy next to her found it amusing she was just admitting it now.

"Nah, you are. You take a toke or two, then inhale. Hold it in your lungs for a bit and exhale. It definitely hurts the first time. _Maybe you need a drink_," he suggested in a silly voice.  
Uncapping the bottles, he handed them to her.

Taking them, it appeared she was building up a nerve.  
"_Alright," _she breathed to herself. Chugging a hefty swig of the drink, she gagged and then shoved her mouth full of chase. "Oh god, that was _gross_."

"You are _so_ cute," Scorpius cooed at her grimace, grabbing the whisky to gulp it down. "Even if your favourite team _is _the Canons,"

"_Shut up_," she giggled, punching him on the chest. "Chudley is the best."

"They've never won a season! Ever! In like 300 years!"

"What_ever_!"  
She punched him again, so he held her tiny fists, and brought them close to him so she couldn't move. Hugging her, they fell back onto the grass together, laughing.  
Both of them were now light headed, the buzzy feeling in their stomachs flowing to their brains.

"Fuck I am _so_ stoned."  
Whatever strain this was, it was _strong. _

Finishing their tiny bottles, stubbing out their joint, Scorpius was tossing their paraphernalia and cherry aside. Looking up at the clouds floating by in thick white wisps, they watched it together for a few moments as they felt their heads spin, holding hands.

"I think I'm drunk," Rose finally broke the hush, turning on her side blinking. As his grip loosened on her hands, she started playing with his hair. "You know you use more hairspray than I do?"

He burst out in a hearty roar, running a hand through the blonde to test her theory.  
"Maybe so, but it's all to look fab for you, my dear," he insisted, stroking a thumb across her freckles, leaning in to melt his lips on hers.

Dizzy and infatuated, wasted with the one they cared about most in their teenaged lives, it seemed there was nothing better than to kiss. Losing themselves in their bodies, emotion and sensation took over.

Hours seems to pass, timed seemed to stop altogether as they were glued at the seams. _Until_, they noticed a shadow cast onto them. Breaking up, they saw it was a man, a man with _Politie Amsterdam _scrawled across his vest.

{}

Hair wet and completely naked, Draco was sprawled on top of his sheets after showering.  
He had just gone on an hour long run, to find himself with unexpected company for the first time.

Warming up on the usual route, an extremely fit girl with long raven hair had caught up to him and told him 'Nice form'. Matching his pace, they'd shared no other words but seemed to keep glancing at each other as she followed him. When he turned onto his street for the final sprint, she'd waved, running back across the bridge, both of them slick with sweat and, at least for him, hormones.

Her swaying ponytail, tight abs, and shapely backside had caught his notice every time she'd gotten in the lead. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had any female attention. Presently, with his hands gripping his cock, he was imagining what she'd look like without clothes, imagining what she her dark pink lips could do below his waist.

Panting, as he was about to climax, the body in his fantasy changed. The sleek long hair shortened to brunette curls. Eyes the colour of celery became cinnamon, and breasts grew bigger.  
The change had him more aroused but before his rationality let him contemplate this, he had came onto his stomach, onto his hands.

Brow furrowing, he caught his breath as confusion took over, wondering how pathetic he had to be to be so turned on by the only women he had conversed with in the past few months.  
Suddenly he heard several loud rings.

Knowing Scorpius had a key, he snapped out of it and shoved on his day clothes. Peeved that he hadn't had proper time to clean up, annoyed that anyone was coming a-knocking at all.

But it was nothing compared to the fury that consumed him when he opened the door to see a muggle policeman with his son and his girlfriend; Scorpius' eyes were bloodshot, Rose's with tears filled in hers.

"Hello."  
Voice cold, he noticed the fear resonate in his delinquent child immediately.

"Hello, Mr Malfoy?" the officer clarified, holding a notepad and pen.

"Yes."

"I am Constable Beulens. This is your son, Scorpius? And his friend, Rose, uh, Weasley?"  
_At least they didn't lie to the _police_, _was the morbid thought running through Draco's mind.

"Yes it is."

"Well, Mr. Malfoy, I found your son and Miss Weasley in Vondelpark drinking and smoking cannabis on my patrol. Your boy also had several more rolled joints in his pocket."  
Both of them hung their heads in shame as Rose covered her face with her hands and began to cry.

"Is that so?" Draco asked, grinding his teeth and glaring at Scorpius, who winced.

"Miss Weasley had identification stating she is 16, your son had none. But I am assuming he is the same age?"

"He is."

"As an official resident of Amsterdam I am sure you're aware of the laws. The legal drinking age is 18. And while marijuana is decriminalized here, he again is underage and _not_ a citizen. Since this is their first offence, I will only give them both a warning. Unfortunately I must write up a small fine for them each. You will take custody of them both or shall I keep Miss Weasley?" he asked.

Rose sobbing harder, Draco agreed and took the slips of paper and allowed space for the two to come inside.  
"When you turn 18 all this will be cleared, so don't worry too much," he addressed the kids. "Please rethink your actions so this does not happen again. If there are any more minor offences committed before you may have to spend a night in jail."  
The kids nodded.

"Thank you very much for bringing them home safely, officer."

"Anytime," he replied, with a trite grin, "Be safe, good evening."  
Bidding a farewell, Draco slammed the door, leaving his hand on it for a moment before turning to Scorpius and Rose.

Looking like naughty schoolchildren, they could barely look him in the eye as he placed his hands on his hips.  
"You two are _damn _lucky that you got caught by an officer who was _nice."_

Rose flinched, still leaking tears as his words bit into her.  
"_Dad," _Scorpius pleaded, "Dad it was my fault. I'm the one who – "

"I don't _care _whose_ fault _it was_!_ "  
It was dead silent. Scorpius wanted to melt into the floor at Draco's angry gaze.

"I thought you were going to the Anne Frank House after lunch! Or was that just a _lie_ so you could get me to go away?"

Gulping several times, Scorpius muttered a nearly inaudible, "_Yes._"

Heaving a deep intake of air, Draco smacked his palms over his face before speaking again. Yelling wouldn't get the message across, but it was so very difficult not to given the circumstance.  
_"I have never in my life been so disappointed._"

Low voice combined with sincerity, Scorpius gave a small whimper.  
Rose stood beside him, never daring to take his hand to comfort him for fear of being reprimanded.

"What I don't understand is how two very intelligent people such as yourselves could do something so bloody irresponsible! Do you understand that doing illegal things can get you banned from the _country_? What were you thinking?"

"_I d-don't know."_

"Why would you drink? Where the hell did you go that allowed you to purchase it? And where the hell did you even _get _weed from? From strangers, right? What if you had been sold something that was laced with other drugs? With chemicals? What if you had hurt yourself trying to get some at _all?_ "

"_I don't know."  
_Meek, Scorpius repeated the same phrase.

"Brilliant, you don't know. Meaning you hadn't factored any of that in. Fucking - _Merlin_, Scorpius, you understand now the consequences don't you?"  
Still so harsh, he shook his head.

"_N-no."_

"First off, I have to call Rose's mother." Rose yelped through her crying, lowering herself onto the floor. "Second, I have to tell her that not only were you two written up by _police_, but that I let you go off on your own. That I provided you with money to buy illegal things. And even _if _she doesn't get cross at me, which she certainly will, what are the odds that she'll let you a foot near her daughter ever again?"

Face pale, lips trembling, Scorpius chose not to say anything, simply handed out his phone to him as he joined Rose on the ground.

Dread flooding his insides, and Draco sauntered into the study and shut the door. Pacing around the room, he pressed the call button as 'Hermione Weasley' was ready on the screen.  
"_Ring…Ring…Ring…Ring….Hello?"_

Pulse racing, composure was faked._  
"_Hi Hermione…it's Draco."

"_Hi. Is everything alright?"  
_Worry etched in her inflection, Draco swallowed hard.

"I'm afraid not."

"_Oh, no, what happened? Is Rose okay?"_

"In a manner of speaking…She's not hurt. It appears that Scorpius and she somehow obtained alcohol and marijuana and got caught with it in a park."

"_What?"_

"Yes."

"_By the _police_?"  
_She was incredulous, Draco could tell. It would've been endearing she had so much faith if there wasn't obvious outrage simmering underneath it.

"Yes."

"_I –why were –" _she stalled_. "I'm at work but I'll come as soon as I can to get her."  
_And then there was a click.  
Her last sentence was grave; he was in for it. Poor _Rose_ was in for it.

Returning to the front room, Scorpius was blank, leaning against the stairs with a vacant expression. Rose had her arms around her stomach.  
"Your mother is coming to retrieve you Rose. As soon as she can, she said."

He expected her to say 'ok'. It was only until he got closer to her that he saw she was green, moaning in a low tine, in apparent pain.

"Are you alright?"

"_I feel terrible."  
_A tiny gurgling sound was heard and she covered her mouth in the next moment. Taking her under the arms, Draco led her to the bathroom, closing the door so she could cower in front of the toilet away from her boyfriend as she began to vomit. Vomiting and crying at the same time.

So uncomfortable he was, but he figured Rose was much more embarrassed than he was. Draco patted her on the back, gathering her red mane in his hands so she wouldn't get bile on her hair. Saying nothing.

"_I -," _she was heaving, "_I'm s-so – so sorry."  
_And she spat, weeping into the bowl, as another round of her retching came through.  
He didn't reply, just stood there bent over, waiting.

He was living one of his worst nightmares, one he hadn't realized he had, when Hermione had suddenly appeared, exposing her daughter in a most vulnerable of states, Scorpius standing behind her as her mouth was twisted in reproach.  
"_How could you?"_

This was directed towards Draco, not Rose.  
"I'm sorry?"  
Straightening up, he felt his heart constrict as she became scarlet about the face.

"I let _my_ daughtercome to a foreign country, giving you, _you, _Draco bloody Malfoy, the benefit of the doubt that you weren't still a complete _screw up! _And you proved me wrong like I feared you would."

"Mum!"  
Rose was aghast, still continually bawling.

"You just_ wait _til we get home, Rose Weasley," she scolded, pointing a finger at her. "In a manner of one afternoon, _no, _seven hours, you let your son and another child run about a city they're unfamiliar with, and they get arrested! My daughter has a criminal record now! Because of _you!"_

"I understand your anger, Hermione, _believe me,_ but Rose doesn't have a record, she got a warning. I'd be more concerned about her health, and not the - "

"Don't you _dare _tell me what I should be concerned about!" she yelled, face nearly distraught, fists balled at her sides. "It's because of you her health is altered at all!"

"_Mrs. Weasley, it was my idea," _Scorpius tried to intervene, in a weak willed voice. "_It's my fault."_

"It doesn't matter whose idea it was, it's that this happened _at all_, Scorpius. "  
For such a tiny woman, she was incredibly intimidating.

"I don't know what to say to you, I was under the impression they were going to the Anne Frank Museum and then lunch. Why would I assume they'd lie to me?"

"It's not a question of that! You didn't ask my permission to let Rose go alone! You don't have a phone in case there was an emergency, they could have been seriously _hurt_."

"I realize that, but I was trying to lend them a little trust and – "

"And let them roam alone? _What were you thinking? _I'm assuming it was _also_ you that_ gave _them the means to do whatever they wanted! This is _your _fault!" she screamed, cracking her voice on the last word.

At a loss for words, he was glancing everywhere but at her, breathing heavily being cornered in the loo.

"_Mum, it's _not_ his fault," _Rose snivelled. "_I'm sorry!"_

"Sorry doesn't fix this or cut it. We're leaving and you're _not_ coming back here. _Ever_," she stressed, hoisting Rose up into a hug, sheltering her from the bad pureblood man. Walking back out into the foyer, Scorpius looked so down trod that Draco wanted to die.

"Hermione, please don't stop Scorpius from seeing Rose for _one_ stupid mistake."  
Already outside in the setting sun, Hermione shook her head furiously, her visage turning from irate to something resembling fretting. Draco was defeated, and she could see it plainly.

Hermione's fury, when active, was her absolute worst trait. So instead of giving a simple refusal, she dug deep. His regret had broken through the shield; it made her want to steel her resolve.  
"Maybe when they go back to school we can figure out an arrangement. As it stands, the stupid mistake was giving _you_ trust to take care of them for one day. I shouldn't have expected that _you _would _ever_ change. You are so _irresponsible, _no wonder Scorpius lives with his mother."

Mouth opening slightly, the grey in Draco's irises clouded as he visibly recoiled, a strangled gasp escaping his throat. While Scorpius looked like he would like nothing better than to slap her.

"Goodbye," she finished, apparating as quickly as possible away into her own house, Rose yanking her arm away as soon as they were on firm ground.

"_Rose – " _she tried calling, to which she was met with the ugliest frown she'd ever seen on her.

"_I _hate_ you." _  
Hermione believed her.  
"_I_ know_, I'm '_grounded', _I don't care. I'll be in my room, and don't bother trying to give me any supper."_

Turning on her heel, she stomped down the hall, bursting into a fresh set of tears.  
Slumping against the wall, Hermione's emotions jumbled together. She had never snapped quite like it before.  
A solitary tear ran down her skin, dropping to the hard wood.


	8. Grey

_Chapter Eight: Grey_

Sprawled on the black settee, he had a lit cigarette, a questionable glass of something to drink half empty on the coffee table. Staring up at the ceiling, blurry dust specs flew by in the light that streamed in from the half closed curtains.

Creaking wood echoed from the upstairs; it was inevitable that Draco would be in bad company soon.

This was the routine from morning to night for the past few days. Breaking his pledge to quit his vices, Scorpius found himself too timid to tell his father off and not to be so idiotic on his behalf. Because every time something was said all he got was the cold shoulder or an angry response.

Still, enough was enough. Courage had to be gathered for his and his dad's sake.  
So turning round the corner into the drawing room from his recluse, his bed, Scorpius sat tentatively on the leather sofa resting against the bay window.  
"_Dad, can we talk?"  
_  
"Nothing to talk about."

There was a hefty exhale, so loud that Draco looked up at his son.  
"Dad, _please. _I don't know how much more I can apologize," he was whining, throwing out his arms. "I mean it when I say it; every single time."

Sitting across from him on the easy chair, Draco saw Scorpius' mussed up white hair; his frown; his general unhappiness.

He was drunk, if only slightly.  
He _could_ do this.  
He drew a breath.  
"Scorpius, I can forgive you for anything," he said, looking up at the ceiling. "But it will take some time."

"But _how long! _You haven't done anything except run and drink, and you never even gave me punishment..."

"Do you _want _punishment?" was the retort. Bitter, enraged.

"_N-no – "  
_But it was too late because he was already sitting up, ready to strike.

"Scorpius, you _deliberately_ played to a weakness I revealed in confidence in order to go off and impress your girlfriend. I _assume? _That was the absolute worst thing you could have done to me. I shared something with you, it's so hard for me to open up to anyone, and you _used_ it. Against _me_. Your father."

"Dad…_I know." _His voice had gone weak. "I was wrong."

"_Wrong? _You were _foolish_, idiotic, you made me look so bloody incompetent."

"_Dad,_ I'm _sorry_. I didn't even want to go to the Anne Frank House after what you said. I just wanted her to think I was cool. I wanted an excuse for her to come back because she didn't get to see it."

"Scorpius, what the _fuck_ does that mean? That you were _cool_? You were cool to Rose before this, otherwise she wouldn't have wanted to be your girlfriend, don't you understand that? Were you hoping to get her a bit wasted so you could pluck up the courage and see how far things might go? For Merlin's sake, you've only just decided to date her, why go from being a respectable young man to a delinquent in the span of a week? I'm sure Rose is in pieces about it."

Head to the floor, Scorpius toyed with his hands, rubbing fingers together anxiously.  
"Yeah…she's really mad. I thought - I just thought we wouldn't get caught. I like her _so_ much. I don't really have any issue talking to her but I get so anxious when it comes to anything, you know, like kissing. I just blurt things out and don't think of how to phrase them, so far I was just lucky…."

"Yeah, I know you don't bloody think," Draco replied with a sigh, shaking his head. "Comfort comes with time, Scorpius. Do I need to give you the talk about respecting women?"

"_NO," _and his tone rose, red faced, perhaps embarrassed.

"Well you better work on it then. I've been contemplating contacting your mother. Thinking about what exactly I would write or say to her has stopped me, though in doing so would give you the opportunity to tell her yourself how you got caught by the police because you wanted to have sex."

"_NO! Please, don't do that, please."  
_Palms over his eyes, the boy was pleading, the heavy weight of consequence nailing him to the ground.

"I should, but I'll wait. I'm beginning to think that perhaps what Hermione said to me was right," Draco spoke up as he ignored the sad reaction of his child, slugging back the remains of his whiskey and ginger. "Maybe your long stays with Astoria were the best for you, as clearly you are much better behaved in her care."

"_Dad don't say that, _that's not even true. I know you care about me. If you didn't you wouldn't have trusted me with anything, wouldn't be fighting for me."

"Fighting a losing battle," he remarked, clutching his decanter full of Hogsmeade's finest, unceremoniously dumping it into his cup. "I have no business being a parent, do I? I don't know the first thing about it past raising a five year old, and up til now all I had were gifts for you. Since you've been here all I offer is shitty advice on how to get girls and how to get in shape."

"_Stop it." _Draco heard the shuffling before he could realize that he was now being held by his 16 year old boy. "Stop the bloody self loathing. Even if I only get to see you a few times a year, I don't care. I look forward to it," Scorpius was sniffing, wiping his skin clean from tears. "I want it. Don't ruin the progress because of my mistake."

Wrapping his arms around him back, Draco said nary a word.

"Rose's mum was way too harsh on you. I wanted to slap her to be honest," Scorpius continued to murmur in his ear after a long silence. "Don't let it get to you just because she's like, famous and stuff. Because you _used _to be mean to her."

Pulling away, there was a great breath, then a quiet speech.  
"Don't blame Mrs. Weasley, she was right in thinking it. She has every right to distrust me. And this is what you get in return. This is what _I_ get."

"I didn't mean to make you look bad, dad."

Slumping against the cushions, Draco gazed up at the roof again.  
"I know, Scorpius. That's not why I'm most angry. I'm angry because what Hermione said was right. That I let you have the means to buy drugs and you could have been seriously hurt. You could have come across the wrong crowd. I was so cross with you because I don't want anything to happen to you."

"_Oh."  
_Turning to meet his son, Draco got the inkling that it was finally dawning on him that it wasn't the crime but the potential he had been worried about all along.

"Yeah. You mean the world to me, Scorpius. You're the best thing _in_ my life. And I' d like to keep having you in it. So please _try. _Try not to do anything so stupid."

Frown sprawled across his pale skin, the green in his irises clouded with wet, as he focused intently on the face that was the carbon copy of his, minor differences making him older. The face he had rarely seen since childhood; his father's. Still as vulnerable, just as young as Scorpius felt.

"I promise. I love you, dad."

And he leant in again, to hear the same reply: "_I love you too_."

{}

She felt foolish.  
She felt uneasy.  
But this journey felt…_right_.

Maybe not _right, _maybe 'proper' was the correct term. Maybe a little bit twisted.

Swallowing air into her lungs, she bit her tongue and pressed a finger to the bell. The porch was lit but inside seemed so dim. It was Friday, there was still the grand possibility that he wasn't home.

Before the relief could come full circle, there he was; white shirt and black trousers at the door, with tired dark circles and blonde hair unkempt.  
The tiny furrowing of his brows, the grimace, before forcing himself to a neutral expression was not an action missed by her.

"What do you want?"  
The tone wasn't particularly nasty, nor was it welcoming. It caused a stutter to arise from her mouth.

"I- I um, brought you this." And she shoved a green bottle into his grasp. "I was going to bake you something but, well, I obviously didn't know what you liked…."

He inspected the cabernet sauvignon in his hands, a very popular muggle wine that was upwards of forty pounds. Though he wouldn't know that, it was precisely why she'd bought it.

"Thanks…"  
Looking up into her eyes, studying them, he closed his own for a moment before pursing his lips.  
"Would you care to come in, then? Have a glass?"

"Er."  
This is what she came for, though she hesitated for much too long at his inflection, crossing her arms as she found a great interest in the stonework of the steps.  
"Certainly, that would be…_lovely."_

He spun around, she followed.  
"You can sit in there."  
Draco didn't turn, just threw out a hand and pointed right as he made his way to the kitchen.

There was something disquieting in the air. Besides tenseness, Hermione couldn't tell what as she slipped off her heels and settled onto a leather recliner in the designated room. Paintings lined the wall, and there was a gilded fireplace. It was so very elegant save for the empty goblet next to an empty decanter, rings staining the wooden table they rested upon in front of her. An ashtray full to the brim.

She felt goosebumps rise at the base of her neck and on her exposed shoulders hearing his footsteps returning. Carrying two glasses, Draco had popped the cork, and proceeded to pour before he'd even sat down. Across from her on his black settee.

"Here," he said, pushing the half full drink towards her, putting his feet up so he was splayed out on it.

She accepted it, replying thanks, before surveying him as he rubbed weary temples with the hand not holding his poison. As silence took over so intensely that she could feel it, she cleared her throat.  
"I'm sure you understand why I'm here."

"I have an inkling, yes."  
This is how he used to sound, as the way he turned the phrase brought her back to when she was twelve. When he told her that nobody asked of her opinion. Implying that she was unworthy to be speaking at all. When he pretended he was above everyone else so he never had to get close to anyone or anything.

"I just wanted to apologize. For being so…_harsh," _she chose to say, awkward, _shy_ even.  
Hermione was tracing the rim of her glass with a finger, not daring to stare at him.

"I'll get over it."  
There was a frown on Draco's face, he was examining at the wall.

"_That's it? _Just…'I'll get over it.' Certainly you're angry. Why wouldn't you be?"

"It's almost as if you'd _prefer_ I was livid with you. Am I giving off some sort of vibe that I'm cross? Do you honestly think I would have invited you inside if I was _so angry_?"  
Just like that, his old aura shattered. Vulnerability was present, and Hermione thought, perhaps, that because she'd seen him fall down by her words, that this is why he was trying to bar himself up again.

"Well…right now you're sort of..._shouting_ at me, so you are giving off that vibe."  
He was pin straight, and rigid, words biting as they lilted off his tongue and teeth.  
Whereas she managed to stay composed, if not completely cautious.

Slowly dragging the cup to his lips, his gaze found her mouth.  
"I'm pissed off. But I accept your apology. Thank you for the wine."

Insufferably dismissive as he was being, regret seeped into Hermione's throat, and she swallowed it into her stomach, filling her up with discomfort.  
"Is that an invitation to leave?"

"_No."_  
Frustration.

"Could you tell me why you're angry?"

"I'd rather _not."  
_Irritation.

"Why?"

"Because it's none of your business!" Hermione sat there as if nothing fazed her, and _that_ fazed _him_. "Why do you _care_?"

"I feel bad," she admitted. And when he shifted, saying nothing, Hermione began talking carefully. "What I did say to you when I cam eto pick up Rose, at least some of it, and the reasons for my own rage were justified. In my mind, anyways. I definitely crossed a line though. I doubted greatly and still do that somebody like me would _ever_ have an effect so strongly on you. I am very curious as to why you've resorted to drinking copious amounts of what smells like whiskey and smoking cigarettes inside alone."

Hermione noticed his jaw grinding, eyes ever so alert, _awake _from whatever influence they'd been under before.  
"How do you know I'm alone? And what do you _mean _'someone like you'?"

"I saw Scorpius today. In Diagon Alley," she clarified as Draco's brows turned down, confused. "With Gavin Sire, I know his mother. I took Hugo there for some owl feed. Didn't seem entirely too thrilled with my presence."

"No, I'd imagine not."  
He waited for her to answer his second question, but she merely took a sip. And another.  
"What did you mean 'someone like you'?"

"Why are you here alone, Draco?"

"Because I _want_ to be. Alright?"  
Slugging back the remains of his drink, he poured another, red in his cheeks spreading up to his hairline.

"But why? There must be more of a reason you are sat here doing absolutely nothing and wallowing in misery when your son who you never see is at a friends home, unpunished while you sit here feeling his consequences."

"Who do you think you are? Some bloody therapist?"  
Slamming the glass to the soft wood, he threw his arms out manically, voice raising higher by every passing word.  
"The son I 'never' see? Are you attempting to make me feel guilt? _How dare you? _You have _no _idea what I am feeling, and you aren't entitled to know. You also have no bloody right to tell me how to parent, _alright? _You can punish Rose for how she acted here however you please, but Scorpius is _my _son, _my _responsibility! Do you get that?"

"I – " She stopped. "You're right, I'm sorry."

"_Thank you."_  
Throwing himself upwards he stomped back into the kitchen as Hermione turned pink and hot.

Draco came back with brie and a cheese knife on a cutting board, plopping it unceremoniously beside her peace offering. Shoving four or five slices into his mouth, he took a deep breath after swallowing.

"Are you…._okay?_"  
It was very odd to observe a person who had only shown front in all their past encounters. Even if they were teenagers, even if it was twenty years ago, he managed to remain one of the few she could vividly recall from childhood.

"No," he replied, covering his head with his forearms as he lay down fully on the cushions. "I've drank too much and now I'm having a conversation that is making me upset. I can't think straight when I'm distressed normally, the drink isn't helping it."

She could now see the faded tattoo, blinking hard at the repressed memories it brought her to force them away. Wondering how it might be that he had to look at it every single day.

"_What did you mean when you said that somebody like you wouldn't have a strong effect on me_?"  
His face still hidden from view, for some reason she found him in this state, slightly piss drunk, more favourable to confess to.

"When I said that there was no wonder Scorpius lived with Astoria, you reacted in such a way I didn't think was possible. At least in reaction to _me. _There's been a history between us, one I'd like to gladly forget since you've apologized, and since it's long passed. You really never acknowledged me then, did you? I was just 'the mudblood', or Granger. I was reduced to a name like you were to me. I didn't realize that what I could say to you would hurt so much, because what you used to say to me didn't. _At least, not after the first few times_."

Removing his arms away, Draco was quizzical, scared maybe, allowing her to continue as his vocal chords seemed to freeze.

"And I _was _trying to hurt you. It was wrong of me. I saw actual empathy in you, and honestly that was unsettling. I was too far in to my rage to stop. It was my worst nightmare, Rose being in danger, and I _needed _someone to be angry at."

Though he appreciated her candidness, this did not comfort or heal him at all.  
"You demonized me because you didn't view me as a viable human being until I was affected by a valid emotion. Until you saw that I'm not a complete piece of shit."

Squirming in her seat, he continued as if he hadn't noticed.

"And I get it, I am not someone that deserves your trust. But what I _do not_ understand is that considering you let the daughter you're so worried about into my care and my sons care, if you were under the impression I was untrustworthy at all, still a terrible person like I used to be, you wouldn't have let her come, would you? Just like I wouldn't have welcomed her into my home had I still held the prejudices of my parents."

Sipping on her wine, Hermione sighed, pulling her feet up so she could tuck her knees under her body; it struck Draco as very childlike, save for her very adult beverage.  
"I let her come because Rose is in love with your son. I can tell."

She couldn't read his expression, one that seemed like he may cry, or like he was in deep thought. And because his eyes were affixed to hers, she had to continue talking before her throat burned from the flames that had begun in her chest.

"I let her come because Scorpius was so well behaved in _my_ home, he was the exact opposite I'd expected. And because…because you seemed so delighted at the prospect that I thought he was a good person."

"_He _is_ a good person."  
_And though it was nearly a whisper, as if it were something he wished he could stuff back into his mouth, he was still staring at Hermione.

Getting up once more, she stiffened as Draco reached over with the bottle to pour some more red into her glass. She hadn't even noticed it was all gone.

Once he sat back down, laying on cushions once more, he began to speak to the ceiling, dragging a packet from his pockets to spark up a cigarette, his tenth one that day.  
"Hermione, I was delighted at the prospect because Scorpius is the only thing I have left. I want him to be happy. As angry as I was at him, I couldn't bear to see him so sad, or hear him crying at three in the morning because he can't go see this girl he probably loves anymore."

"_Oh."_

"I let him go to his friends home so I had time to think. And I suppose, had time to drink. I've been trying to avoid it, and cigarettes, for his sake you see." He was blowing a smoke ring up to the sky.  
From his other pocket, he retrieved a flask with a sparkling 'M' emblazoned on it, tipping the top off and slugging it all back in one go.

"And…what do you need to think about?"

"Do you _really _want to know? Or are you only asking to be polite?"  
Hermione was in much too deep now, she could sense it in her bones. He was past the point of no return, his cheeks permanently scarlet, grey clouds billowing in his pupils, like he was barely even in the same room with her anymore. There was no more rage, it was evident that this was steadfast turning into something she wasn't entirely sure she could handle.

"I really do want to know."

She saw his mouth twist faintly into a smirk, as he shook his head and pressed his palms against his face before he exhaled, falling completely onto the couch so he could sleep if he chose.  
"Hermione," he began, the way he enunciated her name making her stomach jolt. "I didn't _want_ Scorpius to go to your house. And not because I disapprove of Rose, or you, but because I never wanted another instance where I would have to meet any ghosts from my past life. I'm certain you forgot about me after a while when things could settle way back when, and that's the way I wanted it to be. I want to be forgotten. But I can't disappear. Because I have this son, you see, who is so important to me. The only person who doesn't hate me, who I can't even have equal access to because any ruling authority takes one look at my last name, at what's been branded onto my skin, and says 'unsuitable'. Despite having tried to get help a million times from various people, it's done absolutely nothing, and I'm beginning to suspect that Astoria is actually justified in keeping Scorpius away from me seeing as I am in constant, _piercing_ misery. I moved to Amsterdam to escape, I don't talk to my parents anymore. I don't talk to anyone. It's the reason why I hole myself up in my house and haven't had any real friends since I got a divorce, this constant fear of anyone remembering who I was and what I was involved with. Fuck, it's the reason I am divorced at all. When I am around _anyone _that I used to know I still turn into a pathetic twitchy mess, nearly twenty years later. And though it slowly ebbs, I see Scorpius who is affected by _my name; _I can still feel the knife from everyone around judging me. Draco Malfoy, Unfit Father. And judging my son, who kept my name because it would've been so tedious to change _his_ four times. I am stuck. I am in a grey area. I _am _the grey area. I am not nor will I ever be a Muggle, and I don't have the desire. I am a Wizard, but I have been outcasted. I can't contribute anything to the place I used to belong to. To redeem myself."

His eyes were damp, though it was only noticeable when she looked hard enough. What was more evident and clear was the desperation, a desperation that seemed to claw at her from her insides out, listening to so much pain from one person.  
"You're _stuck_, Draco, not doomed. I can help you, okay, I work for the Magical Law Enforcement, I'm fairly certain that not allowing you to be involved in anything wizard is illegal and – "

"_You don't get it_!" he cried, sitting up and flinging out his limbs, before hiding himself with hands, shocking her to silence. "There's nothing you can do. I was numb, content up until this summer to finally face that I would only see Scorpius four to eight times a year. But now he's here….I don't _want him_ to leave. This is the happiest I have been for as long as I can remember, and I bet Scorpius having Rose was the exact _same. _And I helped him _ruin _it. What you said to me cut me so deep because you're right. _You're right."_

"_No – I was wrong, I – "_

"_NO. You weren't wrong. You are right, and I can't stand the thought that I only have myself to blame. Not just for this, for _everything. _I have nothing when he leaves, and it's my fault. It's my fault and I can't find the will to try anymore. I have been searching and searching for something to inspire me, to make me feel _normal, _or somewhere close. But I hate myself."_

"Draco – "  
She couldn't see his face, but tears were now rolling down hers.

"_And I want to kill myself."_

Draco couldn't shut up, the words continued to tumble out of lips, like he had no control. This girl, this girl he used to hate, who would be last on the list of people he'd confess any sins or woes to, had asked and he had told. The ultimate skeleton in his closet.

And as the blackness was all consuming with every sentence he spoke, suddenly there was a light. Arms were wrapping around his shoulders, causing his head to slowly unfog. There was a body of a woman who owed him nothing hovering over his, bending to him in an attempt of comfort. _  
_Before he realized it, his hands were snaking around her waist to embrace her back.  
"_I don't hate you, Draco."_

His grip tightened, and he heard her breath catch, though she didn't pull away.  
"_And I want to help you. If you'll let me."_

Only his heavy respirations filled the void, feeling his heart burst from his ribcage into her chest, for what seemed like forever until the one thing she wanted to hear was said: "_Please."_


	9. Crash

_Chapter 9: Crash_

"_Rose, dear, it's time to get up. Your father will be here in a half hour."_

The knocking on the door pounded in her tired head as she lay face down under the pillows. Waiting until her mothers footsteps carried her away, seconds that stretched like years, she gave no acknowledgement that she'd heard anything at all. It was only day 7 of being deprived of everything that connected her to the outside world, but it seemed as if all time had stopped to leave her forever confined to a bed.

Unquenched curiosity was a slow killer.  
It was impossible to know what had become of Scorpius. Though angry at his actions, it took but a night to realize he was not the only boy who would've pulled something like it. And wondered _why_exactly he had wanted to get so high so badly. Of course she had ideas, but none of them very pretty.

With an angry slew of text messages after returning home, her phone had been confiscated before she could read his responses to them. Whether or not he was worse off than her, she was now certain she'd never discover. Her father would be the _last_person one earth to let Scorpius into her life, and now her mother was on the other side. There was possibly no opportunity to apologize, the guilt palpable anytime she thought of that day, which was constantly. Worst still, the more incessant part of her brain was filled with regret and feelings of longing she desired to supress. There was no chance to fix all this.  
"_Love is so stupid."_

Pulling herself upwards off the mattress, she threw on her clothes, a too big t-shirt and some tights, not bothering to brush her hair or check for any spots.  
There was nothing left to pack; she grabbed her knapsack and strode to the kitchen, where there were waffles with syrup and a steaming cup of chai waiting at her spot.

Falling into her seat, she dreaded the noises coming from down the hall, fainter turned loud, knowing Hugo the early bird was busy getting achievements on his game of the week in the den to be fussing about in his room.

In front of the vanity, the source of the sound, her mother was holding her temples with achy fingers. In all the years of her life, she wouldn't have _ever_guessed, within an inch of her intelligence, that she'd be here, during the summer, separated from her husband, shunned by the daughter she used to have no quarrels with, and with a quite large promise she'd made to someone she wasn't sure she even knew at all.  
The world had certainly gone mental for Hermione Granger.

Suddenly her mobile buzzed, the loud ping making her jump from her skin out of the chair.  
_Be there in five._

It had been so long since he'd texted her; there were still hearts beside his name.

Heaviness in her chest all consuming, legs were the consistency of lead as she dragged herself to see her children off. Rose was sulking, Hermione could tell by the way she'd devoured her food, syrup dripping on the table, her tea completely gone. She was much like her father that way.

"Any plans with dad this week, sweetheart?"

Tentative. Weak.  
Hermione knew her voice failed her again, the response she got she had expected. Rose staring straight ahead as if she didn't exist.

"Still not talking to me?" she asked, as the red mane of hair remained unmoving, her expression cold and defiant picking up her cutlery and thrusting it in the sink. "Rose, we need to discuss this."

"No, we _don't,"_she spat, in a perfect imitation of the way Hermione would have said the phrase, "I fucked up, I get punishment. That's fair. I'm still going to be mad about – "

"_Don't_curse_."  
_That was the one vice she hated most, the one that the kids had inherited through Ron's careless dialogue throughout their adolescent years. Whenever so much as a 'bloody' escaped from heir lips it reminded her of him. Only him. And it stung.

"Don't interrupt me! Look, I feel terrible, alright? I am not upset about being grounded, but you're forbidding me to see my boyfriend, how the hell am I supposed to act?"

"Sweetheart, I want to have a chat about it. I know I overreacted."  
Rose saw her brows curving inwards, eyes glistening to plead for some kind of truce. She chose to ignore it.  
"I want to tell you something…about the other night. Friday." Mum was struggling. "Look, I understand – "

"You _don't_ understand. At _all_. You don't seem to remember the reason I am actually furious. I'm to blame, _Scorpius_ is to blame for what we did. Mr. Malfoy _wasn't_. You insulted him, went way out of line. It was _embarrassing._ It feels as if the sole factor in me staying away from Scorpius is because of _him. _Because you hold a grudge. How do you think they perceive us now? And me? Maybe forbidding me from going back was good, I doubt Scorpius even wants to date me anymore, though of course I wouldn't know, would I!"  
A bell rang, but it muffled beside the tension suffocating this conversation.

"_Rose – "_

"Don't _Rose_me! You were a complete and utter _cunt_ because of your temper!"  
There were many things she'd been called, but none as bad as that, none as bad as that word.

Worse still, Rose merely shuffled away with malice on her face, flitting past her like she was made of dust, joining her very quiet younger brother who was greeting his father.

Great effort was exerted to drag herself from her spot, to fight the hotness that had evaded her will and warmed her eyes to tears.  
Turning the corner, he was there.  
Ron looked nice today, very nice. He stood there, the smile on his face caused from seeing his daughter. Business attire suited him, no doubt he was just about to go for a meeting at the office. He'd also cut his hair; she was always fond of it when he wore it shorter.

Before she could halt the thought, desire replaced the frustration, making her throat burn, her stomach twinge, a wetness between her legs. If she were in between sheets, it wouldn't be shameful, though maybe a bit sad. Funny how it must happen right now. Funny how this need had only started happening since he'd _stopped_ writing her love notes.

"_Hi,"_she murmured, leaning against the wall, toying with tendrils absentmindedly. It would be a sin to look at him now.

Ron was whispering to Rose, frown replacing the happiness and teeth; stern as her head was hanging. Hugo was paying a bit too much attention to his mobile. As the single word escaped Hermione's mouth, a grimace crossed his, and he told the kids to go wait outside in the car.  
Rose barged through to the porch, Hugo scuttled up to say bye to mum, with a steadfast hug before joining her.

When they were gone, Ron drew to his full height, which was substantial over Hermione. Though she had braced herself for this, as she obviously had written him about it all, his tone managed to shock her stiff.  
"I don't know what you're playing at, _Hermione, _but if it's to get back at me you better quit while you're ahead because I'm not taking anymore bullshit!"

"You're_ not taking any bullshit, Ron?"  
_The desire that flocked to her vanished as quickly as it came.

"_Yeah! _You don't respond to any of my letters, won't talk to me, what do you want me to do when something of this bloody magnitude happens? It's one thing to encourage our _only _daughter's infatuation with a damned Malfoy. It's another to allow her to actually _visit _a complete trash bag of a human being and give him charge of her. What were you thinking?"

The vein bulging in his head didn't aid in her ability to speak. But something in his conviction had made her blood boil.  
"I don't respond to the letters because I told you I was done. Until you've learned to be peaceful and _normal _with me, I can't say anything that won't get your buttons pushed. And second, I'm not going to police Rose, Ron," she started arguing, staring at the ground as her voice rose. "Scorpius was very respectable and personable when he came over here. Rose really likes him. And I liked him too."

"I don't bloody _care_ what his first impression was_,_ he got her in trouble!She could've gone to jail!"  
His voice climbed like a furious chorus, the inflection echoing throughout the halls.

"She didn't though, did she? I understand your anger, I was _exactly_ as livid as you were when it happened. Initially, Scorpius' father came to the house, and he apologized for all the past transgressions. He acted like a civil human being. And still has been since. It's been cold for years, this bad blood, and I wanted to let it go. I started the anger up again unwarranted because I was upset. It was not his fault that his son, and _Rose, _decided to go and be a delinquent. He lent them his trust, they broke it."

"_You're taking his _side?!"

"_No. _I'm reminding you that she's sixteen years old. She's a _teenager_, and not the teenager we both had to be. She's going to make mistakes, and we will punish her for them. But not for who she chooses to see good in. Not for one transgression."  
Stern and composed, he had begun to flicker at her words.

"Unbelievable, you're un-_fucking_-believable!"  
He'd become so dark he was nearly unrecognizable. She could sense the resolve slipping.  
"The boy our daughter has fallen in lust with is a _delinquent_ and has an incompetent piece of work parenting him for the moment. It's all bad news. You're trying to win Rose over by letting her go so she likes you better. That's irresponsible, have you forgotten about what he was like?"

Cool as she was, emotions are tenuous under pressure.

"_What are you _talking_ about? _She despises me! Didn't you see? And you don't _know_ what he's like because you won't ever give him another chance to prove it otherwise," she replied with gritted teeth. "And his name is _Draco - _we're adults now remember? I am _not _trying to win Rose over, I'm allowing her to live her life. How _dare you suggest that? _This is not a war, this is an arrangement, let's not make it anymore _difficult _than it already is!_" _she screamed to finish.

Flinching at her heavy emphasis, he turned on his heel, sharp intakes of breath the only sound he emitted as he simply marched to the door. Before he closed it he muttered, quite audibly: "If it's not a war, then why does it feel like it?"

As he left, her heart slid down her throat to her stomach. And then she was empty.

{}

The ping startled him as he lay on his duvet, edging his way slowly through a book about Russian politics he found in the library.

In the dim light evading curtains he could see his laptop, screen a glowing black from leaving it on all day long. Sitting up he slid off the mattress to flick the mouse.

One browser was flashing; it was Alice Crowley, one of Rose's good friends from Hufflepuff, messaging him about his welfare.  
'_Hey, heard there was some drama with you and Rose. How you doing? :)'_

The only time he'd spoken to her in the flesh was in the halls one day. Nabbing Rose so they weren't tardy for Herbology. Different periods, you know.  
All he'd gotten from her was a shy smile, blond hair and sepia eyes alight. A 'hey, see you later'.

She knew. She was mysterious.

So he responded.  
_I'm ok._

Immediately he got another beep of life._  
'Upset? Have you talked to her at all?'_

The click of the keys resonated in his room as feeling flooded him._  
Yes. No, I haven't talked to her. Have you? I guess you know what happened? I haven't talked to her at all since she came over._

Waiting for the reply was excruciating now.

'_She called me yesterday for a minute while her mom left. Said she felt really lonely, pissed off because of her mum. That's pretty much it.'_

_Nothing about me?  
_He could feel his insides shrinking.

'_Not directly…I'm sure she misses you. Just a bit fussed about it all, you know?'_

She was probably right._  
Yeah, totally._

'_If you're lonely we can talk some more. I wish we could have during school, the way Rose describes you is _so _sweet :)."_

His chest flipped, but he wasn't sure why. This was all a bit strange.  
_Thanks ha ha. Next year we totally can! I hope Rose is ok though, and can forgive me. _

'_Forgive you?'_

_Well I was a bit of an arse, I suppose. Wasn't intentional._

'_I'm sure you weren't. Rose will be alright. I'd consider myself lucky to spend time with you ;).'_

Flushed about the collar, his fingers paused before typing again.

_Thanks, Alice…um, I should probably go, I'm not really allowed to be online strictly speaking. Ttyl_

Logging off, he didn't wait for her answer, tipped the screen over to close his computer and furrowed his brow. Exiting the room he stepped on down to the main floor where dad was working away in the study, head down bent over the desk, scribbling.

"Dad, can I ask you something?…"

Rigid, feline, Draco twitched upwards and spun round with his glasses on, staring at his son quizzically; his son who had been solitary since the night before.

"Yeah, what's wrong, Scorpius?"

"Nothing…just….I….," It is very difficult to speak when such intense focus was given to you. "Er, never mind it's dumb. How are you today, dad?"

Then he walked over to him, wrapping arms around his father, almost sitting in his lap like he may have been five years old again. Gently, Draco pushed him a few inches away.

"_I _am going out tonight, Scorpius. And I don't know how to feel about it."

Grabbing his frames, he tore them off, rubbing the space between his eyes with tired fingers.

"_Going out? _Where?"  
It had been a solid two days since Draco had spoken candidly about anything. Since Scorpius had returned from Gavin's, he'd seemed like a locked up time bomb.

"Doesn't matter. I'm just trying to be in better spirits, that's all you need to know. For you and I."  
Patting his sons back once, he then stood up and began walking away.

"What time is it? Quarter to five? I'm going to go take a shower."

"_Dad – where are you going?"  
_Curious now, perhaps slightly worried. At his father's dismissiveness, he was calling along as he followed him up the stairs.

"To the bathroom."

"_Dad."_

"I'm meeting up with a…friend, I suppose. Yes, a friend. Look, Scorpius if you want me to be straight," he turned to him, as he was gently pulling at his bedroom door, "I need to talk to an adult about certain things concerning myself. And you."

"So…you're going to therapy then?"  
Puzzled still, as Scorpius was, Draco drew a breath slumping his shoulders. Realizing that though technically incorrect, his child was, in fact, still right.

"In a sense…_yes_."

"Well why didn't you just say so? I won't ask about it then, you're not supposed to, you know. Confidentiality and that," Scorpius insisted, turning around and walking away waving hands.

"Are you sure you don't have anything you want to tell me, or ask me?"  
And Scorpius spun round again, hearing the gentleness in his voice.

"I'm fine, dad."

Draco watched as Scorpius returned to his room, before walking to his shower. He then found himself, as he pulled off his shirt and his pants, wondering what his son was going to say before he cut himself off. If he really _was _fine.  
Because now Draco could admit to himself that _he_ wasn't.

Two hours later, with a change of clothes and a glass of wine in his stomach, he knocked, putting his ear to the wall to let Scorpius know he'd be back later.

"_Bye, good luck_," the muffled encouragement came through, then still silence.

Wanting to find words to say something more, nothing came, so he ran hands through wisps of hair, slowly treading down steps into the warm air and dark sky, apparating with a crack into the night.

{}

"So when did these feelings start? Have they always been so prevalent like they were the other night?"

Work had been brutal, a long haul of endless paperwork, and the remaining pounding repeat of words in her head from her daughter only hours earlier. Combined with the anxiety of playing dress up tonight, there was no time for relief, no time for a break between her wave of emotions. For _he _was here, in her house, willing to aloe her an entry into his life, but most of all vulnerable and sad ; her ultimate weakness.

Yet, Hermione's passionate exhaustion was diminutive, non-existent, compared to Draco's surmounting nausea and humiliation having to sit across a very small table from a girl he used to taunt, _no_ ridicule.

Aside from the fact that her demeanour was professional, as if he were a client, his eyes kept flickering from his clasped hands in front of him to expressive pink lips covering a pink tongue and perfect teeth; from focusing on the blonde hairs cast in front of his vision to copper eyes lined in black.

Then flew down, in an attempt to stop the wandering, to her arms.

"Why do you have a notepad?"  
Clutching a regular old blue pen, the spiraled book was open and ready to be used.

"If you want me to help you, I need to remember all of your words. Now answer the question."

"But can't you simply speak to me? Why do you need a record of it?"  
She may have lashed out at him has his voice not been filled with tiny trembles, scrunching his features together.

"Look, Draco, I'm not a therapist," she began, softer, putting down her tools. "I have a tumultuous grasp on the subject at best. You gave a cry for help and I'm answering it. Depending on what you're willing to say tonight, I might need to refer you to someone better equipped. For your own sake," she stressed, staring him right in the eyes. "So if I need to search for a suitable person, I'll need a reference."

And she patted her papers gently.

Moments passed; he heaved a deep breath.  
"I've felt this way on and off since I was 16."

"_Sixteen," _Hermione repeated, jotting it down as her stomach tightened. Unable to swallow, she spat out. "Care to elaborate beyond that?"

"You probably know why it started, I was sentenced to murder or be killed. I had to watch my back and hatch and scheme for an entire year for nothing. I didn't want to do it, but I didn't want my parents to suffer. And like a bloody fool it wasn't up until the fear consumed me whole that I realized I was just a pawn in a stupid game of revenge."

"Obviously you resent that,."

"_Obviously,"_ he snapped, then muttering an apology before continuing, holding up his palms. "But it goes way beyond that. Even if anyone could've forgiven me for being juvenile, young, I was now a Death Eater. I hurt people, _I stood by while people were hurt_," he whispered, flashbacks of what had been flooding Hermione's brain. She flushed them back out.  
"I was sucked in it all, but was too scared to really fight. I would have died with the meagre safety from my family rather than doing the right thing."

_The right thing.  
_it echoed through her head, freezing her blood before she could continue with numb fingers.

"So you _don't_ think you were doing the right thing? What would've beenthe right thing to do in your situation?"

"_No, _fuck no. The right thing would've been to help kill that bastard. It would've been to try and flee, try and help other people in our situation _anything _other than hold up our fragile broken egos to try and salvage some respect because it appeared like there was a good chance he'd win."

"It was not your fault that your father made the decision to get involved with dark magic in the first place, Draco. It is not your fault you were then punished for his failures. You were caught in a crossfire and it is very difficult to control the situation when you have little to no knowledge of what is going on. Plenty of people would submit to a terrorists orders instead of seeking aid out of fear."

"_Terrorists _orders_?"  
_He singled out the words, as if they were foreign, and Hermione regained feeling in her veins as their insides began to heat.

"_Yes, _a terrorist. Killing innocents, having others go on suicidal missions, having others go on murdering sprees, and aiming for a society of few rulers and many slaves for a fault cause; what name would _you _give him?"  
She had lost herself. Her face was shining, mouth open and teeth bared as she cast a barrier of tension between them.

"_Evil."_

Silly almost how one word can shatter worlds.

"Psychopathic would be too kind."

Monotone and firm, still in his seat, Hermione breathed to calm.  
"I'm sorry, I – that was really uncalled for, I didn't mean to -"

"Get so angry? It's alright. I'd just never heard _terrorist _used for something not Muggle-related."

"No, I shouldn't have reacted so badly. It's been too long for me to go off like that."

"Some wounds don't heal."  
Hermione opened her mouth to reply, then shut it slowly as she noticed he was studying his left arm, the faded snake and skull still very visible.

"So…you were saying that you were upset how you handled – _oh."  
_  
Tiny tears had begun to tread down his cheeks, no sobbing or other movement. Just pure release of pain.

"I'm fine," he said. "I'm – I'll be fine."  
He didn't wipe them away. His fingers were shaking. His voice was rising higher.

Hermione, unaware of his normal progression of sadness, began to shake too.  
There was loss of control.  
She _needed_ some control.

"Do you want some tea?"  
_Tea fixes everything _ran through her cluttered mess of thoughts_._

Draco, whose thoughts had gone from regular to progressively more negative found himself releasing a rather loud chuckle, before replying, "No. No, I'm okay."

"Wine?"

"I don't – "  
She was already springing up from the chair, flinging open the fridge for ice.

"_Whiskey? _It's been sitting in the cabinet untouched for about three months."  
As his inflection evened out, hers became his, high strung and frantic.

"Um…is six thirty a bit early to drink? Is that appropriate in therapy?"

"Were technically not in therapy, we're too acquaintances talking to one another about personal issues."

As she grabbed two glasses, he clung to the only sober passing thought he could hold onto, before all of his bravery dissolved.

"I understand, it's just I sort of get the feeling you are only doing this because you feel obligated after I broke down…because you made a commitment. That you're actually really uncomfortable and don't know how to speak to me unless it's not under any influence."

"_What?"  
_She was cold stone, spinning around slowly to face him across the room.

"I'm not trying to be rude, I just get the inkling you don't want me to cry. You don't want me to act any other way except formally. Like I may fly off the handle or something. If we have to talk about my inner most insecurities, the darkest periods of my life, the darkest places inside my head, it's inevitable. I've slowly been spilling my thoughts onto my son, and he shouldn't have to hear it. I'm leaking, I have nobody to speak to. I assumed you offering given how I acted in the past was some kind of sign that isn't there. was I thought because you seemed genuine on Friday that you might actually _care_. But I think you just feel bad about yelling at me and this is your tit for tat. To make it up to me."

The sound of Hermione placing the liquor bottle onto the counter resonated throughout their surroundings.

"I just thought that maybe you wouldn't treat this like it's a chore."

Now there was only breathing.

"That _wasn't_ my intent."  
She said this all empty, her heart was in her throat. No other words were coming to her, they got strangled in her mouth.

"Would you mind if I smoke? I can leave and come back or –"

"The porch is fine," she insisted, pointing to the front yard.

Draco was looking at her until he turned a corner, pouting lips on such a kind face. There was a pressure that had formed since he laid his gaze on her like he might explode with one flick of the wrist to his flesh, and though he escaped into the fresh air, and the idle summer noises of cars and wind, there was no break from it. Even as his lit his cigarette and took a long drag, this unnerving sensation lingered.

He was stubbing the end of his first, going on his second as the door creaked, as she came out, glass in hand filled with spirits and ice, plopping down next to him, too close, as if they were teenagers taking a break from a raging soiree.

"I'm sorry," she said, after a minute or two of them both staring across the street at the neighbour's daughter chasing her kitten. "I don't want you to cry, but it's not because I don't care."

Turning to look at her, she put her head down, gaze on the contents of her drink.

"I was trying to be professional, and not get involved with my opinions too strongly on what you've done or how you should feel. When someone cries, I feel terrible for them, I just want to give them a hug or some words of encouragement You don't need that, you need advice that's tangible and real. It's just difficult to hear the recall of what has been finished for so many years. Maybe It would've been easier to start with what happened after. I suppose it was silly of me to think I'd be good enough to do this."

"No, it was ridiculous of me to expect that it wouldn't be difficult for you." Leaning back on his elbows, he was inspecting the sky, the setting sun turning it a blood orange, tossing the rest of his cigarette to the ground. "To assume that you'd be over it because I'm a wreck. And tell you you don't care…tell you that it's because you feel bad, that's rubbish. You don't owe me a thing."

No, she didn't, and she wasn't sure how to communicate she knew this without sounding foolish.

"It doesn't matter Draco, whether or not I owe you something. I would like to help either way."

Taking a quick sip of her whisky, there were arms winding round her body. His nose in her messy hair, lips so close to her neck.

"_Thank you."  
_

Pulling away after a lingering moment, he glanced at her then, looking her up and down, hands still gently laying against her bare skin. He meant to remove himself from her again quickly, but she grabbed at his retracting fingers and held onto them.

"You're welcome."

He smelt like smoke and clean laundry, a big contradiction. And that's what Draco was to her. A strange enigma of something that used to be her enemy, and now from his communication to her, he'd somehow transformed into a human being. Even if his grip was strong, he still needed her, needed anyone, to help him.

She reminded him of the summer days they were having. Warm, light…beautiful, even. Whiskey on her soft breath, her messy curls had a citrus scent. It was a strange way to feel, he hadn't expected any comfort tonight.

A deafening crack filled the void.-  
The intimate calming moment was interrupted by a red-headed figure.

"_What the fuck."_

It was her husband, her _ex _husband, apparating in at a most inconvenient time. Standing above them, as they tore away from each other. Slowly, not full of guilt.

"I knew it."  
Ron was so adamant, so confident, in this assumption.

"Oh for god's sake, knew_ what _Ron_? _What are you even doing here?_"_

"Hugo forgot his sketchbook. Don't change the subject. You and this one are _fucking. _How else would that explain your sudden affiliation with the Malfoy family? Letting Rose see his son. Were you cheating on me before?"

"_God, no!"  
_Thrusting herself off the concrete steps, she shoved her face in her hands, a blush spreading from her forehead to her chest.  
"How dare you? No, I would not cheat on you. I don't want to have this conversation right now, Ron. It doesn't matter why Draco is here. But he's my guest and you're being rude."

There was no use for words, the anger was there and it wasn't going to go so gladly.  
"What do you have to say, big man, eh?"

Draco sat still, unengaged, caught in this crossfire of a gun fight, the weapons their mouths. Not daring to put his head up.

"_What do you have to say?"  
_He heard a low whimper escape from Hermione at the surmounting rage, felt the presence of his biggest victim lashing out in revenge.  
The high road was what he should've taken. Driving was never his strong suit.

"Maybe you should actually listen to what she's saying instead of blowing up like an arsehole," he replied, no emotions, peeking up with his very best bored expression in place.

There was a hefty growl, and then Ron was so close he was almost touching him.

"Don't tell me what to do! Are you happy you managed to convince _my_ woman that she should have sex with a piece of trash like you?"

Open palm to the jaw, the slap was harsh; Draco winced, peeking up to see the man rubbing his face, positively shocked as Hermione stood with fire in her eyes.

"Stop it. _Stop it. _You don't get to come back into my life any time you please. Judging me, arguing with me this morning about my parenting and then acting like a jealous idiot for no reason. I am _not _your girl anymore. Now leave."

"_Hermione, I – "_

"LEAVE."

She was shouting. Years of experience told him that he must back off before the bubbling volcano turned to an inferno.

Before Ron turned on his heel, there was a lunge, a fist, and Draco found himself hot in the face, red dripping from his nose, flooding and staining his white shirt, the pain sharp and throbbing.

"_God, _I'm so sorry, I'm _so – so – "  
_

She was crying now, shaking like a leaf, bending down and trying to pull out her wand to clean the mess. Waving her away, he was wiping his face with his hand.

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault, really, I am okay."

"No, you're _covered_ in blood. Does it hurt? Of course it does, why am I asking you that,_ Christ."_

Leaning in, she enchanted a spell so the remaining dredges went away, wiping a little spot she missed with her thumb. Inches from his body.

Moving away her hand from his nose, he grabbed it, though he wasn't sure why, holding them together as they lowered to their laps.  
"_Are you okay_?"

Her breath caught, as she met concerned silver eyes; he was looking at her, _really_ looking at her.

And it felt so simple, natural even, to drag her lips to his, somersaults in her stomach as he moaned from surprise, groaned from delight.  
"_Fine."_


End file.
